Betty Garrett

Biography

Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 - February 12, 2011) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer, who starred in several Hollywood musicals and stage roles. She was at the top of her game when the Communist scare in the 1950s brought her career to a screeching, ugly halt. She and her husband Larry Parks, an Oscar-nominated actor, were summoned by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee and questioned about their involvement. As the drama played out, a very pregnant Garrett was never called to testify, but her husband was. With his admission of Communist Party membership from 1941-1945 and refusal to name names, he made it to the Hollywood Blacklist. After the incident, Garrett and Parks worked up nightclub singing/comedy acts along with appearing in legit plays. Although Parks never quite shook off the blacklist incident, he did win a role in John Huston's film, Freud (1962). Garrett went on to appear in roles in many television series.

Known For

Grey's Anatomy

as Eleanor

Murder, She Wrote

as Kit Parkins

Murder, She Wrote

as Martha Neilson

The Golden Girls

as Sarah

On the Town

as Brunhilde Esterhazy

The Love Boat

as Martha McCoy

All in the Family

as Irene Lorenzo

Becker

as Mrs. Firth

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self

Laverne & Shirley

as Edna Babish