Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appearing primarily in musicals, and became one of the studio's most valuable stars of that decade. She was noted for her energetic and sometimes manic performance style. Raised in Detroit during the Great Depression by a single mother who worked as a bootlegger, Hutton began performing as a singer from a young age, entertaining patrons of her mother's speakeasy. While performing in local nightclubs, she was discovered by orchestra leader Vincent Lopez, who hired her as a singer in his band. In 1940, Hutton was cast in the Broadway productions Two for the Show and Panama Hattie, and attracted notice for her raucous and animated live performances. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1941 after being signed by Paramount Pictures, and concurrently recorded numerous singles for Capitol Records. Her breakthrough role came in Preston Sturges's The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944), and she went on to receive further notice for her lead role as Annie Oakley in the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950), and for Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). She made her final feature film appearance in Spring Reunion (1957). After leaving Paramount, Hutton starred in her own series, The Betty Hutton Show, from 1959 until 1960. She continued to perform in stage productions, though her career faltered following a series of personal struggles, including chronic depression, alcoholism, and prescription drug addiction. Hutton largely abandoned her performing career by the 1970s, and found employment in a Rhode Island rectory after becoming nearly destitute. She returned to the stage temporarily replacing Alice Ghostley in the original Broadway production of Annie in 1980. In her later life, Hutton attended Salve Regina University, where she earned a master's degree in psychology in 1986. After working as an acting instructor at Emerson College, Hutton returned to California in 1999 and resided in Palm Springs, where she died in 2007, aged 86. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 26, 1921 (Battle Creek), Died March 12, 2007 (Palm Springs)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1939 - 1946
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-034657 | 10-in. | 5/8/1939 | Igloo | Betty Hutton ; Vincent Lopez ; Suave Swing Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | BS-034904 | 10-in. | 5/25/1939 | Concert in the park | Betty Hutton ; Vincent Lopez ; Sonny Schuyler ; Suave Swing Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet | vocalist | |
Victor | BS-040247 | 10-in. | 7/5/1939 | The jitterbug | Betty Hutton ; Vincent Lopez ; Suave Swing Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist | |
Victor | D6VB-2073 | 10-in. | 5/19/1946 | My fickle eye | The Four Hits ; Betty Hutton ; Joe Lilley Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Victor | D6VB-2074 | 10-in. | 5/19/1946 | Wherever there's me, there's you | The Four Hits ; Betty Hutton ; Joe Lilley Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Victor | D6VB-2091 | 10-in. | 7/7/1946 | What did you put in that kiss | Betty Hutton ; Joe Lilley Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Victor | D6VB-2092 | 10-in. | 7/7/1946 | Walkin' away with my heart | Betty Hutton ; Joe Lilley Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Victor | D6VB-2159 | 10-in. | 9/13/1946 | Don't tell me that story | Betty Hutton | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Victor | D6VB-3123 | 10-in. | 10/19/1946 | It's lovin' time | Betty Hutton | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Victor | D6VB-3124 | 10-in. | 10/19/1946 | The more I go out with somebody else | Betty Hutton | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hutton, Betty," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102967.
Hutton, Betty. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102967.
"Hutton, Betty." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Betty Hutton
Discogs: Betty Hutton
Allmusic: Betty Hutton
Apple Music: Betty Hutton
IMDb: Betty Hutton
Britannica: Betty Hutton
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Hutton, Betty - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80151126
Wikidata: Betty Hutton - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q152713
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/34645624
MusicBrainz: Betty Hutton - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ed785e34-4657-4dd1-974c-f5aa196d5988
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