Betty Garrett, actress in film, TV, Broadway, dies

Yahoo - AP ^ | 02/13/11 | Andrew Dalton

[Borges]

LOS ANGELES – Betty Garrett, the vivacious Broadway star who played Frank Sinatra's sweetheart in two MGM musicals before her career was hampered by the Hollywood blacklist, has died in Los Angeles, her son said Sunday. She was 91.

Garrett died Saturday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, most likely from an aortic aneurysm, said her son, Garrett Parks. Garrett had been in good health and taught her usual musical comedy class at Theater West, the non-profit organization she helped found, on Wednesday night, but Friday checked into the hospital with heart trouble, and died with her family at her side the following morning.

Garrett was best known as the flirtatious girl in love with the shy Sinatra in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "On the Town," both in 1949, and later in life she became well-known to TV audiences with recurring roles in the 1970s sitcoms "All in the Family" and "Laverne and Shirley."

Her movie career was brief, largely because of the Red Hunt led by congressmen who forced her husband, actor Larry Parks, to testify about his earlier membership in the Communist Party.

Parks had won stardom and an Academy Award nomination as best actor for his dynamic portrayal of singer Al Jolson in the 1946 "The Jolson Story." But in 1951, he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and he admitted that he had joined the Communist Party in 1941 and left in 1944 or 1945.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

That was the movie that had him pinging about the blacklist in later interviews;

It's available online here through Hulu.com for free;

http://www.crackle.com/c/The_Front/The_Front/2483289

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[buccaneer81]

From the article:

Garrett had also had a brief dalliance with the party...

[Borges]

That isn’t something that marks her as a life long communist.

[buccaneer81]

It doesn't look like her husband was a lifelong Communist, either, but they both tried it out.

Not cool.

[Borges]

Unfortunately, it was highly popular in the 1930s and early 40s. Socailist candidates got more votes than they ever would again.

[trisham]

I recognize her.

[trisham]

According to Wikipedia, both were members of the Communist Party but only her husband was called on to testify.

[buccaneer81]

FDR and his crew were responsible for most of it.

If I had to name a single American who did the most long term damage to this nation in its history, FDR is it.

[Borges]

Even before him. Norman Thomas was popular in the 1920s. And there was this guy...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Z._Foster

[MinuteGal]

Both Betty Garrett and her husband, Larry Parks, were members of the Communist Party.

She joined the Party during her early career days in New York City. After joining she avidly volunteered her song-and-dance talents at many fundraisers for communist and progressive causes.

Parks was born in Joliet, Illinois, about 50 miles from where I was born.

Leni

[Borges]

If I got judged by stuff I did as a teen and early 20-something I’d hate it.

[MinuteGal]

I never would have joined the Communist party, though, when I was in my 20's.....and then remained in it, and then raised funds for it, and then married a commie......

No way, no how, no dice.

Leni

[trisham]

Agreed.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Garrett had been in good health and taught her usual musical comedy class at Theater West, the non-profit organization she helped found, on Wednesday night, but Friday checked into the hospital with heart trouble, and died with her family at her side the following morning.

It's wonderful that she was teaching a class and accomplishing so much at her age.

RIP...

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Betty in 1974...

[Borges]

You weren't living during the Depression. They probably joined together as naive youth. Larry Parks apparently left the party after WW2.

[ozzymandus]

You’re sure making a lot of excuses for communist traitors.

[Borges]

LOL Do you know how many people got involved somehow with various socialist movements back then (pre WW2). Was Lucille Ball a traitor too? She registered as a communist twice.

[ozzymandus]

So communism is a “social movement”? Was Nazism a “social movement”? I already knew Lucy was a commie, and yes, she was just as stupid as Betty Garrett.