BETTY HUTTON
Name: Betty Hutton
Birth name: Elizabeth June Thornburg
Born: 26 February 1921 Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.
Died: 11 March 2007 Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg, February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007)
was an American film actress and singer.
She began life as Elizabeth June Thornburg, a daughter of railroad foreman Percy
E. Thornburg (1896-1939) and his wife, the former Mabel Lum (1901-1967). Her
father abandoned the family for another woman and they did not hear from or see
him again until they received a telegram, in 1939, informing them of his death
from suicide. Betty was raised by her mother, who took the surname Hutton, along
with her sister, Marion, and was later billed as the actress Sissy Jones. The
three started singing in the family's speakeasy when Betty was 3 years old.
Related troubles with the police kept the family on the move, and eventually
they moved to Detroit. When interviewed as an established star appearing at the
premiere of Let's Dance (1950), her mother — arriving with her, and following a
police escort — quipped, "At least this time the police are in front of us!"
Hutton sang in several local bands as a teenager, and at one point visited New
York City hoping to perform on Broadway, where she was rejected.
A few years later, she was scouted by orchestra leader Vincent Lopez, who gave
Hutton her entry into entertainment. In 1939, she appeared in several musical
shorts for Warner Bros., and appeared on Broadway in Panama Hattie and Two for
the Show, both produced by Buddy DeSylva.
When DeSylva became a producer at Paramount Pictures, Hutton was signed to a
featured role in The Fleet's In (1942) which starred Paramount's number one
female star Dorothy Lamour. Hutton made an instant impact with the moviegoing
public but Paramount did not immediately promote her to major stardom, giving
her second leads in a Mary Martin musical and another Lamour film before casting
Betty as Bob Hope's leading lady in Let's Face It (1943). Following the release
of The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944), Betty was indisputably a major star and
with the release of Incendiary Blonde (1945), Hutton had supplanted Lamour as
Paramount's number one female box office attraction.
Hutton made 19 films in 11 years, from 1942 to 1952 including a hugely popular
The Perils of Pauline in 1947. She was billed over Fred Astaire in the 1950
musical Let's Dance. Hutton's greatest screen triumph was Annie Get Your Gun for
MGM, which hired Hutton to replace an exhausted Judy Garland in the role of
Annie Oakley. The film and the leading role, retooled for Hutton, was a smash
hit, with the biggest critical praise going to Betty (her obituary in The New
York Times described her as "a brassy, energetic performer with a voice that
could sound like a fire alarm") but Hutton, like Garland, was earning a
reputation for being extremely difficult.
In 1944, she signed with Capitol Records, one of the first artists to do so, but
was unhappy with their management, and later signed with RCA Victor. Among her
many films was an unbilled cameo in Sailor Beware (1952) with Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis, in which she portrayed Dean's girlfriend, Hetty Button. Her time as
a Hollywood star came to an end due to contract disagreements with Paramount
following The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Somebody Loves Me (1952), a
biopic of singer Blossom Seeley. The New York Times indicated that her film
career ended because of her insistence that her husband at the time, Charles O'Curran,
direct her next film; when the studio declined, Hutton broke her contract. Betty's
last completed film was a small one, 1957's Spring Reunion. She gave an
understated, sensitive performance in the drama; box office receipts showed the
public didn't accept a subdued Hutton.
Hutton worked in radio, appeared in Las Vegas and in nightclubs, then tried her
luck on the new medium of television. An original musical TV "spectacular"
written especially for Hutton, Satin 'n Spurs (1954), was an enormous flop with
the public and critics, despite being one of the first television programs
televised nationally by NBC in compatible color. Desilu Productions took a
chance on Hutton and in 1959 gave her a sitcom The Betty Hutton Show, which
quickly faded. Renewed interest in Betty was generated in a well-publicized "Love-In
for Betty Hutton" held at New York City's Riverboat Restaurant, emceed by
comedian Joey Adams, with several old Hollywood pals on hand. The 1974 event
raised $10,000 (USD) for Betty and gave her spirits a big boost. Steady work,
unfortunately, still eluded her. Her last TV outings were an interview with Mike
Douglas and a brief guest appearance in 1975 on Baretta.
In 1967, she was signed to star in two low-budget Westerns for Paramount, but
was fired shortly after the projects began. Afterwards, Hutton had trouble with
alcohol and substance abuse, eventually attempting suicide after losing her
singing voice in 1970, and having a nervous breakdown. She divorced her fourth
husband, jazz trumpeter Pete Candoli, and declared herself bankrupt. However,
after regaining control of her life through a church, she converted to Roman
Catholicism and went on to teach acting and to cook at a rectory in Rhode Island.
On Broadway, she temporarily replaced a hospitalized Carol Burnett in Fade Out -
Fade In in 1964 and followed Dorothy Loudon as the evil Miss Hannigan in Annie
in 1980. Her last known performance in any medium was on Jukebox Saturday Night,
which aired on PBS in 1983. Robert Osborne interviewed her for TCM's Private
Screenings in April 2000; the interview first aired on July 18, 2000. The
program was rerun as a memorial on the evening of her death.
The actress's first marriage was to camera manufacturer Ted Briskin on September
3, 1945; they divorced in 1950. Two daughters were born to the couple, Lindsay
Diane Briskin (born 1946) and Candice Elizabeth Briskin (born 1948). Ted Briskin
had a brief 21-day marriage to Joan Dixon after this divorce. He died in 1980 in
Los Angeles.
Hutton's second marriage was in 1952 to choreographer Charles O'Curran, and they
divorced in 1955; he died in 1984.
Her third marriage was in 1955 to Alan W. Livingston, an executive with Capitol
Records, who had created Bozo the Clown; they divorced five years later,
although some accounts refer to this as a nine-month marriage.
Her fourth and final marriage was in 1960 to jazz trumpeter Pete Candoli, who
was born in 1923, a brother of Conte Candoli. Hutton and Candoli had one child,
Carolyn Candoli (born 1962) and then divorced in 1967 (although some accounts
place the year as 1964).
Hutton lived near Palm Springs, California until her death due to complications
from colon cancer at 86 years of age. Carl Bruno, executor of her estate and a
long-term friend, told the Associated Press that she died on the evening of
Sunday, March 11, 2007. Hutton is buried at Desert Memorial Park in Palm Springs,
California. None of her three daughters attended the funeral.
Name: Betty Hutton
Birth name: Elizabeth June Thornburg
Born: 26 February 1921 Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.
Died: 11 March 2007 Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg, February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007)
was an American film actress and singer.
She began life as Elizabeth June Thornburg, a daughter of railroad foreman Percy
E. Thornburg (1896-1939) and his wife, the former Mabel Lum (1901-1967). Her
father abandoned the family for another woman and they did not hear from or see
him again until they received a telegram, in 1939, informing them of his death
from suicide. Betty was raised by her mother, who took the surname Hutton, along
with her sister, Marion, and was later billed as the actress Sissy Jones. The
three started singing in the family's speakeasy when Betty was 3 years old.
Related troubles with the police kept the family on the move, and eventually
they moved to Detroit. When interviewed as an established star appearing at the
premiere of Let's Dance (1950), her mother — arriving with her, and following a
police escort — quipped, "At least this time the police are in front of us!"
Hutton sang in several local bands as a teenager, and at one point visited New
York City hoping to perform on Broadway, where she was rejected.
A few years later, she was scouted by orchestra leader Vincent Lopez, who gave
Hutton her entry into entertainment. In 1939, she appeared in several musical
shorts for Warner Bros., and appeared on Broadway in Panama Hattie and Two for
the Show, both produced by Buddy DeSylva.
When DeSylva became a producer at Paramount Pictures, Hutton was signed to a
featured role in The Fleet's In (1942) which starred Paramount's number one
female star Dorothy Lamour. Hutton made an instant impact with the moviegoing
public but Paramount did not immediately promote her to major stardom, giving
her second leads in a Mary Martin musical and another Lamour film before casting
Betty as Bob Hope's leading lady in Let's Face It (1943). Following the release
of The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944), Betty was indisputably a major star and
with the release of Incendiary Blonde (1945), Hutton had supplanted Lamour as
Paramount's number one female box office attraction.
Hutton made 19 films in 11 years, from 1942 to 1952 including a hugely popular
The Perils of Pauline in 1947. She was billed over Fred Astaire in the 1950
musical Let's Dance. Hutton's greatest screen triumph was Annie Get Your Gun for
MGM, which hired Hutton to replace an exhausted Judy Garland in the role of
Annie Oakley. The film and the leading role, retooled for Hutton, was a smash
hit, with the biggest critical praise going to Betty (her obituary in The New
York Times described her as "a brassy, energetic performer with a voice that
could sound like a fire alarm") but Hutton, like Garland, was earning a
reputation for being extremely difficult.
In 1944, she signed with Capitol Records, one of the first artists to do so, but
was unhappy with their management, and later signed with RCA Victor. Among her
many films was an unbilled cameo in Sailor Beware (1952) with Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis, in which she portrayed Dean's girlfriend, Hetty Button. Her time as
a Hollywood star came to an end due to contract disagreements with Paramount
following The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Somebody Loves Me (1952), a
biopic of singer Blossom Seeley. The New York Times indicated that her film
career ended because of her insistence that her husband at the time, Charles O'Curran,
direct her next film; when the studio declined, Hutton broke her contract. Betty's
last completed film was a small one, 1957's Spring Reunion. She gave an
understated, sensitive performance in the drama; box office receipts showed the
public didn't accept a subdued Hutton.
Hutton worked in radio, appeared in Las Vegas and in nightclubs, then tried her
luck on the new medium of television. An original musical TV "spectacular"
written especially for Hutton, Satin 'n Spurs (1954), was an enormous flop with
the public and critics, despite being one of the first television programs
televised nationally by NBC in compatible color. Desilu Productions took a
chance on Hutton and in 1959 gave her a sitcom The Betty Hutton Show, which
quickly faded. Renewed interest in Betty was generated in a well-publicized "Love-In
for Betty Hutton" held at New York City's Riverboat Restaurant, emceed by
comedian Joey Adams, with several old Hollywood pals on hand. The 1974 event
raised $10,000 (USD) for Betty and gave her spirits a big boost. Steady work,
unfortunately, still eluded her. Her last TV outings were an interview with Mike
Douglas and a brief guest appearance in 1975 on Baretta.
In 1967, she was signed to star in two low-budget Westerns for Paramount, but
was fired shortly after the projects began. Afterwards, Hutton had trouble with
alcohol and substance abuse, eventually attempting suicide after losing her
singing voice in 1970, and having a nervous breakdown. She divorced her fourth
husband, jazz trumpeter Pete Candoli, and declared herself bankrupt. However,
after regaining control of her life through a church, she converted to Roman
Catholicism and went on to teach acting and to cook at a rectory in Rhode Island.
On Broadway, she temporarily replaced a hospitalized Carol Burnett in Fade Out -
Fade In in 1964 and followed Dorothy Loudon as the evil Miss Hannigan in Annie
in 1980. Her last known performance in any medium was on Jukebox Saturday Night,
which aired on PBS in 1983. Robert Osborne interviewed her for TCM's Private
Screenings in April 2000; the interview first aired on July 18, 2000. The
program was rerun as a memorial on the evening of her death.
The actress's first marriage was to camera manufacturer Ted Briskin on September
3, 1945; they divorced in 1950. Two daughters were born to the couple, Lindsay
Diane Briskin (born 1946) and Candice Elizabeth Briskin (born 1948). Ted Briskin
had a brief 21-day marriage to Joan Dixon after this divorce. He died in 1980 in
Los Angeles.
Hutton's second marriage was in 1952 to choreographer Charles O'Curran, and they
divorced in 1955; he died in 1984.
Her third marriage was in 1955 to Alan W. Livingston, an executive with Capitol
Records, who had created Bozo the Clown; they divorced five years later,
although some accounts refer to this as a nine-month marriage.
Her fourth and final marriage was in 1960 to jazz trumpeter Pete Candoli, who
was born in 1923, a brother of Conte Candoli. Hutton and Candoli had one child,
Carolyn Candoli (born 1962) and then divorced in 1967 (although some accounts
place the year as 1964).
Hutton lived near Palm Springs, California until her death due to complications
from colon cancer at 86 years of age. Carl Bruno, executor of her estate and a
long-term friend, told the Associated Press that she died on the evening of
Sunday, March 11, 2007. Hutton is buried at Desert Memorial Park in Palm Springs,
California. None of her three daughters attended the funeral.