Who was Betty Grable? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Elizabeth Ruth Grable

Died At Age: 56

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Harry James (m.1943-1965), Jackie Coogan (m.1937-1939)

father: John Conn Grable (1883–1954)

mother: Lillian Rose Hofmann (1889–1964)

children: Jessica James, Victoria Elizabeth James

Born Country: United States

Actresses American Women

Height: 5'4" (163 cm), 5'4" Females

Died on: July 2, 1973

place of death: Santa Monica, California, United States

Ancestry: Dutch American, German American, British American, Irish American

Diseases & Disabilities: Lung Cancer

Cause of Death: Lung Cancer

U.S. State: Missouri

City: St. Louis, Missouri

epitaphs: Betty Grable James, 1916-1973

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Childhood & Early Life

She was born as Elizabeth Ruth Grable to John Conn Grable and Lillian Rose Hofmann. She was the youngest of three children.

Her mother groomed her for a career in show business from an early age. She motivated her daughter to sing, dance and act.

Betty made her debut as a chorus girl in the film ‘Happy Days’ in 1929 when she was 12 years old.

Her mother made her attend the Hollywood Professional School and learned dancing from the Ernest Blecher Academy.

She was chosen for the chorus in ‘Let’s Go Places’. The law at that time required the girls to be over 15 to dance in the chorus. Betty was just 13 but her mother arranged for her false identification papers so that she could perform. However, the deception was found out and she was disqualified.

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Career

In 1930, she made her first film appearance as a Goldwyn Girl in ‘Whoopee!’. She led the opening number, ‘Cowboys’. This was followed by small roles in a number of films over the decade.

She signed a contract with Paramount Pictures in the late 1930s. She appeared in a number of B-movies like ‘Pigskin Parade’ (1936), ‘This Way Please’ (1937), ‘College Swing’ (1938). She played college students in most of these films and was thus typecast in this role.

In was in 1940 that she landed her first leading role—she was chosen to play Glenda Crawford—in the musical film ‘Down Argentine Way’ which also had Don Ameche, Charlotte Greenwood and Carmen Miranda in the star cast.

She played the title role in the musical film, ‘Sweet Rosie O’Grady in 1943. The story was about a singer who hopes for a better future when she marries an English duke. The movie was a big commercial hit.

In 1947, she starred in the highly popular film, ‘Mother Wore Tights’ in which she was cast opposite Dan Dailey. She played a vaudeville performer whose daughter is embarrassed of her mother’s profession. It was one of the highest grossing films of that year.

She played Ruby Summers in the ‘Wabash Avenue’ in 1950. The film was a remake of the 1943 film ‘Coney island’. She portrayed a burlesque queen in a dance hall in Chicago.

Her 1951 film ‘Meet Me After the Show’ was one of the last musicals she appeared in. The movie was about a Broadway actress who is so successful that her husband considers her more of an asset than a wife.

She starred along with Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall as gold-diggers in the 1953 romantic comedy ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’. The screenplay was based upon two plays by Zoe Akins and Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert.

Her final movie appearance was in the 1955 comedy ‘How to Be Very, Very Popular’ which was produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson. The plot revolved around two showgirls who witness the murder of their fellow performer but do not want to get involved in the investigation.

Major Works

The musical ‘Mother Wore Tights’ is considered her signature film. She starred along with Dan Dailey as married vaudeville performers whose children are embarrassed of their parents’ profession. The film was a commercial super hit and earned more than $5 million at the box office.

Personal Life & Legacy

She tied the knot with actor Jackie Coogan in 1937 and divorced him in 1939. Her second marriage was to trumpeter Harry James in 1943. The couple had two daughters. After enduring a difficult marriage plagued by alcoholism and infidelity, the couple divorced in 1965.

She was in a relationship with the much younger dancer Bob Remick which lasted till her death.

She suffered from lung cancer and died of the disease in 1973.

Betty Grable Biography