Betty Blythe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Betty Blythe (born Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter, September 1, 1893 – April 7, 1972) was an American actress best known for her dramatic roles in exotic silent films such as The Queen of Sheba (1921). She appeared in 63 silent films and 56 talking pictures (known as talkies) over the course of her career. She is famous for being one of the first actresses to appear on film in the nude, or nearly so, during the Roaring Twenties. She is reported to have said, "A director is the only man besides your husband who can tell you how much of your clothes to take off." Blythe began her stage work in such theatrical pieces as So Long Letty and The Peacock Princess. She worked in vaudeville as the "California Nightingale" singing songs such as "Love Tales from Hoffman". After touring Europe and the States, she entered films in 1918 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, then she was brought to Hollywood's Fox studio as a replacement for actress Theda Bara. As famous for her revealing costumes as for her dramatic skills, she became a star in such exotic films as The Queen of Sheba (1921) (in which she wore nothing above the waist except a string of beads), Chu-Chin-Chow (made in 1923; released by MGM in the US 1925) and She (1925). She was also seen to good advantage in less revealing films like Nomads of the North (1920) with Lon Chaney and In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter (1924), produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Other roles were as an opera star, unbilled in Garbo's The Mysterious Lady. She continued to work as a character actress. One of her last roles was a small uncredited role in a crowd scene in 1964's My Fair Lady. Betty Blythe's name lives on through the Betty Blythe Vintage TeaRoom in West Kensington.
Known For
Credits
- 1964 · My Fair Lady as Lady at Ball (uncredited)
- 1956 · Runaway Daughters as Party Guest (uncredited)
- 1951 · Hollywood Story as Herself
- 1948 · Luxury Liner as Miss Fenmoor (uncredited)
- 1948 · Shed No Tears as Mrs. Peet (Uncredited)
- 1948 · Letter from an Unknown Woman as Frau Kohner (uncredited)
- 1948 · Madonna of the Desert as Mrs. Brown
- 1947 · Jiggs and Maggie in Society as Mrs. Vacuum
- 1947 · The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as Floor Manager (uncredited)
- 1947 · Something in the Wind as Society Matron (uncredited)
- 1946 · Undercurrent as Saleslady (uncredited)
- 1946 · Joe Palooka, Champ as Mrs. Stafford
- 1946 · The Postman Always Rings Twice as Customer (uncredited)
- 1946 · The Undercover Woman as Cissy Van Horn
- 1945 · Adventure as Mrs. Buckley (uncredited)
- 1945 · They Were Expendable as Officer's Wife (uncredited)
- 1945 · Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood as Mrs. Murdock (uncredited)
- 1945 · Docks of New York as Mrs. Darcy
- 1944 · A Fig Leaf for Eve as Lavinia Sardham
- 1944 · Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat as Mrs. Manning
- 1943 · Mr. Muggs Steps Out as
- 1943 · Bar 20 as Mrs. Stevens
- 1943 · Spotlight Scandals as Mrs. Baker
- 1943 · Crime Doctor as Mrs. Harrington
- 1943 · Sarong Girl as Miss Ellsworth
- 1943 · Girls in Chains as Mrs. Grey
- 1943 · Presenting Lily Mars as Dowager
- 1942 · Dawn on the Great Divide as Mrs. Elmira Corkle
- 1942 · Piano Mooner as Society Woman
- 1942 · House of Errors as Mrs. Martha Randall
- 1942 · Freckles Comes Home as Minerva Potter
- 1942 · Inflation as Next Door Neighbor Who Begins Hoarding (uncredited)
- 1941 · Tuxedo Junction as Miss Hornblower
- 1941 · The Miracle Kid as Madame Gloria
- 1941 · Top Sergeant Mulligan as Mrs. Lewis
- 1941 · Honky Tonk as Mrs. Wilson
- 1941 · Our Wife as Minor Role (uncredited)
- 1941 · Puddin' Head as Mrs. Bowser
- 1941 · Sis Hopkins as Mrs. Farnsworth
- 1941 · Federal Fugitives as Marcia
- 1940 · Misbehaving Husbands as Effie Butler
- 1940 · Earl of Puddlestone as Millicent Potter-Potter
- 1939 · The Women as Mrs. South (uncredited)
- 1938 · Gangster's Boy as Mrs. Davis
- 1938 · Delinquent Parents as Mrs. Wharton
- 1938 · Romance of the Limberlost as Mrs. Parker
- 1938 · Hold That Kiss as Wedding Guest at Piermont's
- 1938 · Life in Sometown, U.S.A. as Mrs. Himber (uncredited)
- 1937 · What Do You Think? (Number Two) as
- 1937 · Topper as Mrs. Goodrich (uncredited)
- 1937 · Espionage as Train Passenger
- 1936 · Rainbow on the River as Flower Buyer (uncredited)
- 1936 · The Gorgeous Hussy as Mrs. Wainwright
- 1936 · Yours for the Asking as May
- 1936 · Murder at Glen Athol as Ann Randel
- 1935 · Western Courage as Mrs. Hanley
- 1935 · The Spanish Cape Mystery as Mrs. Godfrey
- 1935 · Cheers of the Crowd as Lil Langdon Walton
- 1935 · The Perfect Clue as Ursula Chesebrough
- 1935 · I've Been Around as
- 1934 · Night Alarm as Mrs. Elizabeth Van Dusen
- 1934 · A Girl of the Limberlost as Mrs. Parker
- 1934 · Two Heads on a Pillow as Mrs. Agnes Walker
- 1934 · The Scarlet Letter as Innkeeper
- 1934 · Money Means Nothing as Mrs. Ferris
- 1934 · Badge of Honor as Mrs. Claire van Alstyne
- 1934 · Ever Since Eve as Mrs. Vandergrift
- 1933 · Before Midnight as Mavis Fry
- 1933 · Only Yesterday as Mrs. Vincent (Uncredited)
- 1933 · Pilgrimage as Janet Prescot
- 1932 · Back Street as Gossip (uncredited)
- 1932 · Tom Brown of Culver as Dolores Delight
- 1932 · Lena Rivers as Mathilda Nichols
- 1931 · Stars of Yesterday as Self
- 1928 · Stolen Love as Modiste
- 1928 · Sisters of Eve as Mrs. Wenham Gardner
- 1928 · Glorious Betsy as Princess Fredericka
- 1928 · Domestic Troubles as Carrie
- 1927 · The Girl from Gay Paree as Mademoiselle Fanchon
- 1927 · A Million Bid as Mrs. Gordon
- 1927 · Snowbound as Julia Barry
- 1925 · She as Ayesha
- 1925 · Percy as Lolita
- 1925 · Folly of Vanity as Mrs. Ridgeway (modern sequence)
- 1924 · In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter as Rita Sismondi
- 1924 · Chu-Chin-Chow as Zahrat
- 1924 · Southern Love as
- 1923 · The Truth About Wives as Helen Frazer
- 1922 · How Women Love as Rosa Roma
- 1922 · Fair Lady as Countess Margherita
- 1921 · Disraeli as
- 1921 · Charge It as Mille Garreth
- 1921 · The Queen of Sheba as Queen of Sheba
- 1920 · Nomads of the North as Nanette
- 1920 · The Silver Horde as Mildred Wayland
- 1920 · Burnt Wings as Helen
- 1919 · The Undercurrent as Mariska
- 1919 · Beating the Odds as Hebe Norse
- 1918 · Over the Top as Madame Arnot
- 1916 · Slander as