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Betty Farrington

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For the Hawaii publishing and political figure commonly referenced as Betty Farrington, see Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington
Betty Farrington
Born(1898-05-14)May 14, 1898
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
DiedFebruary 3, 1989(1989-02-03) (aged 90)
San Diego, California, United States
OccupationActress
Years active1929–56

Betty Farrington (May 14, 1898 — February 3, 1989) was an American character actress active from the 1920s through 1960.[1]

Career overview

Born in Missouri's largest city, Kansas City, Betty Farrington would play mostly supporting and minor roles during her career, although she would occasionally be given a featured or leading part, appearing in almost 100 films during her career.[2] Some of the more notable films she appeared in include: Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve (1941), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda;[3] 1942's My Favorite Blonde and 1947's My Favorite Brunette, both starring Bob Hope;[4][5] the classic film noir Double Indemnity (1944), starring Fred MacMurray, Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson;[6][7] 1944's The Uninvited, starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey;[8][9] Cecil B. Demille's Unconquered (1948), starring Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard;[10] the epic Samson and Delilah (1950), with Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr in the title roles;[11] Father of the Bride (1950), directed by Vincente Minnelli, and starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor;[12] and Minnelli's 1953 The Band Wagon, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. [13] Her final big screen appearance would be in 1956's The Fastest Gun Alive, starring Glenn Ford.[14] Farrington would make guest appearances on several television shows in the late 1950s, including Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and Perry Mason. She died in San Diego three-and-a-half months before her 91st birthday.[15]

Filmography

(Per AFI database)[2]

Same-named actress from an earlier generation

A stage actress named Betty Farrington was active during the late 19th and early 20th century and is described in a September 1914 Reading Eagle article as having "planned to retire this winter and spend the season at her home in Washington", but will instead appear "at the Grand Theatre [in Reading] on Monday evening, Sept. 14, in the leading role of the great American comedy drama, 'The Girl from Out Yonder'". The article subsequently states that, "she was the leading woman for the Orpheum Players during the latter part of the season of 1913–1914. Born in Middletown, Miss Farrington is distinctly a Pennsylvanis girl". A later paragraph begins with the words, "[H]er relatives and friends in Reading have always followed her work closely…"[16]

There is no indication that the two Betty Farringtons were related, although the write-up in the Internet Movie Database for the film actress, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, who was 16 years old in 1914, states that "[S]he had formerly been with various stock companies and was a leading performer on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit in the 1910's".

References

  1. ^ Betty Farrington at Theiapolis[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Betty Farrington". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Lady Eve". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  4. ^ "My Favorite Blonde". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "My Favorite Brunette". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  6. ^ "Double Indemnity". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  7. ^ Photograph of Betty Farrington in Double Indemnity
  8. ^ "The Uninvited". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  9. ^ Vale, Virginia {Western Newspaper Union}. "Star Dust / Stage Screen Radio": "She's the ghost of a Spanish gypsy girl. Betty Farrington, character actress, got the role." (The Pueblo Indicator, February 19, 1944, page 2)
  10. ^ "Unconquered". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  11. ^ "Samson and Delilah". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  12. ^ "Father of the Bride". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  13. ^ "The Band Wagon". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  14. ^ Adams, Les. "The Character Actresses": Betty Farrington credited with 5 B-Westerns and 42 other features (B-Westerns, 1999–2009)
  15. ^ "Betty Farrington, biography". AllMovie. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  16. ^ "A New Leading Woman" (The Reading Eagle, September 6, 1914, page 11)
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