Betty Blythe

Birthday: 1893-08-31
Deathday: 1972-04-07
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

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.

Credits

Year Title Character
1964-10-21 My Fair Lady Lady at Ball (uncredited)
1956-01-20 Runaway Daughters Party Guest (uncredited)
1948-11-09 Luxury Liner Miss Fenmoor (uncredited)
1948-06-09 Shed No Tears Mrs. Peet (Uncredited)
1948-04-28 Letter from an Unknown Woman Frau Kohner (uncredited)
1948-02-23 Madonna of the Desert Mrs. Brown
1947-12-12 Jiggs and Maggie in Society Mrs. Vacuum
1947-09-01 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Floor Manager (uncredited)
1947-07-21 Something in the Wind Society Matron (uncredited)
1946-11-11 Undercurrent Saleslady (uncredited)
1946-05-26 Joe Palooka, Champ Mrs. Stafford
1946-05-02 The Postman Always Rings Twice Customer (uncredited)
1946-01-01 The Undercover Woman Cissy Van Horn
1945-12-28 Adventure Mrs. Buckley (uncredited)
1945-12-07 They Were Expendable Officer's Wife (uncredited)
1945-10-05 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood Mrs. Murdock (uncredited)
1945-02-24 Docks of New York Mrs. Darcy
1944-07-04 A Fig Leaf for Eve Lavinia Sardham
1944-05-20 Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat Mrs. Manning
1943-10-29 Mr. Muggs Steps Out
1943-10-01 Bar 20 Mrs. Stevens
1943-09-24 Spotlight Scandals Mrs. Baker
1943-06-22 Crime Doctor Mrs. Harrington
1943-06-11 Sarong Girl Miss Ellsworth
1943-05-17 Girls in Chains Mrs. Grey
1943-04-29 Presenting Lily Mars Dowager
1942-12-18 Dawn on the Great Divide Mrs. Elmira Corkle
1942-12-11 Piano Mooner Society Woman
1942-04-10 House of Errors Mrs. Martha Randall
1942-01-02 Freckles Comes Home Minerva Potter
1942-01-01 Inflation Next Door Neighbor Who Begins Hoarding (uncredited)
1941-11-25 Tuxedo Junction Miss Hornblower
1941-11-14 The Miracle Kid Madame Gloria
1941-10-16 Top Sergeant Mulligan Mrs. Lewis
1941-10-01 Honky Tonk Mrs. Wilson
1941-08-20 Our Wife Minor Role (uncredited)
1941-06-25 Puddin' Head Mrs. Bowser
1941-04-12 Sis Hopkins Mrs. Farnsworth
1941-03-29 Federal Fugitives Marcia
1940-12-20 Misbehaving Husbands Effie Butler
1940-08-31 Earl of Puddlestone Millicent Potter-Potter
1939-09-01 The Women Mrs. South (uncredited)
1938-11-16 Gangster's Boy Mrs. Davis
1938-07-15 Delinquent Parents Mrs. Wharton
1938-06-16 Romance of the Limberlost Mrs. Parker
1938-05-13 Hold That Kiss Wedding Guest at Piermont's
1938-02-26 Life in Sometown, U.S.A. Mrs. Himber (uncredited)
1937-12-25 What Do You Think? (Number Two)
1937-07-16 Topper Mrs. Goodrich (uncredited)
1937-02-26 Espionage Train Passenger
1936-12-18 Rainbow on the River Flower Buyer
1936-08-28 The Gorgeous Hussy Mrs. Wainwright
1936-07-23 Yours for the Asking May
1936-02-27 Murder at Glen Athol Ann Randel
1935-10-29 Western Courage Mrs. Hanley
1935-10-09 The Spanish Cape Mystery Mrs. Godfrey
1935-08-05 Cheers of the Crowd Lil Langdon Walton
1935-03-13 The Perfect Clue Ursula Chesebrough
1935-03-05 I've Been Around
1934-12-10 Night Alarm Mrs. Elizabeth Van Dusen
1934-10-14 A Girl of the Limberlost Mrs. Parker
1934-10-02 Two Heads on a Pillow Mrs. Agnes Walker
1934-09-18 The Scarlet Letter Innkeeper
1934-06-14 Money Means Nothing Mrs. Ferris
1934-04-01 Badge of Honor Mrs. Claire van Alstyne
1934-03-25 Ever Since Eve Mrs. Vandergrift
1933-11-18 Before Midnight Mavis Fry
1933-11-01 Only Yesterday Mrs. Vincent (Uncredited)
1933-07-12 Pilgrimage Janet Prescot
1932-08-04 Back Street Gossip (uncredited)
1932-06-30 Tom Brown of Culver Dolores Delight
1932-03-27 Lena Rivers Mathilda Nichols
1928-12-02 Stolen Love Modiste
1928-09-01 Sisters of Eve Mrs. Wenham Gardner
1928-06-15 Into No Man's Land The Countess
1928-04-25 Glorious Betsy Princess Fredericka
1928-03-28 Domestic Troubles Carrie
1927-10-01 The Girl from Gay Paree Mademoiselle Fanchon
1927-05-27 A Million Bid Mrs. Gordon
1927-05-01 Snowbound Julia Barry
1925-06-20 She Ayesha
1925-04-05 Percy Lolita
1925-01-26 Folly of Vanity Mrs. Ridgeway (modern sequence)
1924-09-28 In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter Rita Sismondi
1924-05-15 Chu-Chin-Chow Zahrat
1924-01-01 Southern Love
1923-02-03 The Truth About Wives Helen Frazer
1922-10-15 How Women Love Rosa Roma
1922-03-19 Fair Lady Countess Margherita
1921-08-21 Disraeli
1921-06-11 Charge It Mille Garreth
1921-04-10 The Queen of Sheba Queen of Sheba
1920-09-25 Nomads of the North Nanette
1920-05-09 The Silver Horde Mildred Wayland
1920-03-29 Burnt Wings Helen
1919-11-16 The Undercurrent Mariska
1919-05-12 Beating the Odds Hebe Norse
1918-03-31 Over the Top Madame Arnot
1916-04-09 Slander