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Betty Hutton, (born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 26, 1921 in Battle Creek, Michigan) is an American actor, musician and comedienne.
Raised by a single mother, Hutton (along with her sister, Marion Hutton) started singing in the family's speakeasy at age 3. Related troubles with the police kept the family on the move; eventually they moved to Detroit. As a teenager, she sang in several local bands, and at one point visited New York hoping to perform in Broadway, where she was rejected.
A few years later, she was scouted by orchestra leader Vincent Lopez, who gave Hutton her entre into entertainment. In 1939 she appeared in several muscial shorts, and appeared on Broadway in Panama Hattie and Two for the Show, produced by B.G. DeSylva.
When DeSylva became a producer at Paramount Studios, Hutton acquired a starting role in Let's Face It in 1943. She made 14 films in 11 years during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1942, she signed with Capitol Records, one of the first artists to do so, but was unhappy with their management, and signed with RCA. Her status as a Hollywood star ended during contract disagreements with Paramount.
Hutton worked in radio and toured in nightclubs, then appeared ontelevision through the 1960s. In 1967, she was signed for starring roles in Paramount westerns, but was fired shortly after the projects began. Afterwards, Hutton had trouble with alcohol abuse, eventually attempting suicide, and had a nervous breakdown. However, after regaining control of her life, she went on to teach acting.
Married four times with three children, Hutton as of 2004 lives in Palm Springs.
Hit songs
- Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief
- His Rocking Horse Ran Away
- I Wish I Didnt Love You So
- It Had To Be You
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