Betty Grable

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Betty Grable
in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Born
Elizabeth Ruth Grable
Other namesFrances Dean
Spouse(s)Jackie Coogan (1937-1940)
Harry James (1943-1965) 2 children

Betty Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American dancer, singer, and actress.

Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in Life 100 Photos that Changed the World. Grable was particularly noted for having the most beautiful legs in Hollywood and studio publicity widely dispersed photos featuring them. Hosiery specialists of the era often noted the ideal proportions of her legs as: thigh (18.5") calf (12"), and ankle (7.5"). Grable's legs were famously insured by her studio for $1,000,000 with Lloyds of London.

Early life

She was born Elizabeth Ruth Grable in St. Louis, Missouri to John C. Grable (1883-1954) and Lillian Rose Hofmann (1889-1964).[1] She was the youngest of three children.

Most of Grable's recent ancestors were American, but her distant heritage included Dutch, Irish, German and English.[2][3] She was propelled into acting by her mother. For her first role, as a chorus girl in the film Happy Days (1929), Grable was only 12 years old (legally underage for acting), but, because the chorus line performed in blackface, it was impossible to tell how old she was. Her mother soon gave her a make-over which included dying her hair platinum blonde.

Career

For her next film, her mother got her a contract using a false identification. When this deception was discovered, however, Grable was fired. Grable finally obtained a role as a 'Goldwyn Girl' in Whoopee! (1930), starring Eddie Cantor. Though Grable received no billing, she led the opening number, "Cowboys." Grable then worked in small roles at different studios for the rest of the decade, including the Academy Award-winning The Gay Divorcee (1934), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

In the 1940s – after small parts in over 50 Hollywood movies throughout the 1930s – Grable finally gained national attention on stage for her role in the Cole Porter Broadway hit Du Barry Was a Lady (1939).

File:Grable1.jpg

In 1940, Grable obtained a contract with 20th Century Fox, becoming their top star throughout the decade, with Technicolor movies such as Down Argentine Way (1940), Moon Over Miami (1941) (both with Don Ameche), Springtime in The Rockies (1942), Coney Island (1943) with George Montgomery, Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) with Robert Young, Pin Up Girl (1944), Diamond Horseshoe (1945) with Dick Haymes, The Dolly Sisters (1945) with John Payne and June Haver, and her most popular film, Mother Wore Tights (1947), with favorite costar Dan Dailey.

It was during her reign as box office queen (in 1943) that Grable posed for her famous pinup photo, which (along with her movies) soon became escapist fare among GIs fighting in World War II. The image was taken by studio photographer Frank Powolny, who died in 1986. [4] Despite solid competition from Rita Hayworth, Dorothy Lamour, Veronica Lake, Carole Landis and Lana Turner, Grable was indisputably the top pinup girl for American soldiers. She was wildly popular at home as well, placing in the top 10 box office draws for 10 years. By the end of the 1940s Grable was the highest-paid female star in Hollywood.

Her postwar musicals included: That Lady in Ermine (1948) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948) again with Dailey, Wabash Avenue (1950) (a remake of Grable's own Coney Island) with Victor Mature, My Blue Heaven (1950), and Meet Me After the Show (1951). Studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck lavished his star with expensive Technicolor films, but also kept her busy — Grable made nearly 25 musicals and comedies in 13 years. Her last big hit for Fox was How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe.

Grable's later career was marked by feuds with studio heads. At one point, in the middle of a fight with Zanuck, she tore up her contract and stormed out of his office. Gradually leaving movies entirely, she made the transition to television and starred in Las Vegas. In 1967, she took over the lead in the touring company of Hello, Dolly. She starred in a 1973 musical called Belle Starr in London, but it was savaged by critics and soon folded.

Personal life

In 1937, Grable married another famous former child-actor, Jackie Coogan. He was under considerable stress from a lawsuit against his parents over his earnings, however, and the couple divorced in 1939.

In 1943, she married trumpeter and big band leader Harry James. The couple had two daughters, Victoria and Jessica. They endured a tumultuous 22-year marriage that was plagued by alcoholism and infidelity. The couple divorced in 1965. Grable entered into a relationship with a dancer, Bob Remick, several years her junior. Though they didn't marry, their romance lasted until the end of Grable's life.

Death

Grable died of lung cancer at age 56 in Santa Monica, California. Her funeral was held July 5, 1973, 30 years to the day after her marriage to Harry James — who, in turn, died on what would have been his and Grable's 40th anniversary, July 5, 1983. She is interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

Posthumous recognition

Grable has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6525 Hollywood Boulevard. She also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy noted on National Public Radio's Morning Edition on April 23, 2007, in an interview with Terry Gross that Grable was his inspiration for founding the Playboy empire.

Filmography

Features:

Short Subjects:

  • Crashing Hollywood (1931)
  • Ex-Sweeties (1931)
  • Once a Hero (1931)
  • Lady! Please! (1932)
  • Hollywood Luck (1932)
  • The Flirty Sleepwalker (1932)
  • Hollywood Lights (1932)
  • Over the Counter (1932)
  • Air Tonic (1933)
  • School for Romance (1934)
  • Love Detectives (1934)
  • Elmer Steps Out (1934)
  • Business Is a Pleasure (1934)
  • Susie's Affairs (1934)
  • Ferry-Go-Round (1934)
  • This Band Age (1935)
  • The Spirit of 1976 (1935)
  • A Night at the Biltmore Bowl (1935)
  • Drawing Rumors (1935)
  • A Quiet Fourth (1935)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 11 (1936)
  • Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs (1936)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7 (1937)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 10 (1937)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 4 (1938)
  • Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 (1941)
  • The All-Star Bond Rally (1945)
  • Hollywood Park (1946)
  • Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars (1955)

Footnotes

  1. ^ BettyGrable.net - Betty Grable Biography
  2. ^ http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=geolarson2&id=I224911 Worldconnect.rootsweb.com
  3. ^ http://grableonline.tripod.com/faq-2.html Grableonline.tripod.com
  4. ^ FRANK POWOLNY - New York Times

External links


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