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Betty Lou Keim

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Betty Lou Keim
Keim with Wallace Ford on The Deputy
Born(1938-09-27)September 27, 1938
Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJanuary 27, 2010(2010-01-27) (aged 71)
Chatsworth, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1949–1960
Spouse
​
(m. 1960)​
Children4

Betty Lou Keim (September 27, 1938 – January 27, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actress.

Early life and career

Keim was born in Malden, Massachusetts, as the daughter of a choreographer and a dancer, and she grew up in New York from the age of five.[1] She started getting dance lessons from her father at the age of six and later took voice lessons. Her stage debut followed at age seven under the direction of José Ferrer in Strange Fruit. After several stage parts, she debuted on Broadway, and she became most remembered for playing a mean-spirited girl in the play A Roomful of Roses in 1956.[1] Her other work on Broadway included The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1953), Texas, Li'l Darlin' (1949), and Crime and Punishment (1947).[2]

Keim also acted on television, guest starring in numerous TV series. In 1953, she landed a co-starring role in the short-lived sitcom My Son Jeep.[3]

Three years later, she made her film debut with a role alongside Barbara Stanwyck and James Cagney in These Wilder Years. The same year, she repeated her A Roomful of Roses role in its movie adaptation Teenage Rebel as Ginger Rogers' daughter. In 1957, she had a supporting role in 20th Century Fox's The Wayward Bus. The following year, she appeared in Some Came Running. When not acting, Keim attended the Lodge Tutoring School.[1] Her final acting experience was on The Deputy, in which she starred as Fran McCord from 1959 to 1960.[4]

Personal life

Keim retired from acting in 1960 after marrying actor Warren Berlinger, with whom she had four children. She died at her home in Chatsworth, California, aged 71, from lung cancer.[5] She was interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery.[6]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1956 These Wilder Years Suzie
1956 Teenage Rebel Dorothy 'Dodie' McGowan
1957 The Wayward Bus Norma, the counter girl
1958 Some Came Running Dawn Hirsh

References

  1. ^ a b c Preuss, Lucile (January 1, 1956). "Teen Ager on Broadway Finds Roses on Her Path". The Milwaukee Journal. p. 10.
  2. ^ "Betty Lou Keim". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  3. ^ "Lives Remembered". The Daily Telegraph. February 10, 2010.
  4. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 252–253. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  5. ^ "Actress Known for Rebel Roles". Los Angeles Times. February 24, 2010.
  6. ^ Betty Berlinger
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