Betty Farrington | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 14, 1898 Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
| Died | February 3, 1989 (aged 90) San Diego, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1929–56 |
Betty Farrington (May 14, 1898 – February 3, 1989) was an American character actress active from the 1920s through 1960.[1]
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Betty Farrington played mostly supporting and minor roles during her career, although she occasionally was given a featured or leading part, appearing in almost 100 films during her career.[2] Some of the more notable films she appeared in include: Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve (1941), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda;[3] 1942's My Favorite Blonde and 1947's My Favorite Brunette, both starring Bob Hope;[4][5] the classic film noir Double Indemnity (1944), starring Fred MacMurray, Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson;[6][7] 1944's The Uninvited, starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey;[8][9] Cecil B. Demille's Unconquered (1948), starring Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard;[10] the epic Samson and Delilah (1950), with Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr in the title roles;[11] Father of the Bride (1950), directed by Vincente Minnelli, and starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor;[12] and Minnelli's 1953 The Band Wagon, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse.[13] Her final big screen appearance was in 1956's The Fastest Gun Alive, starring Glenn Ford.[14] Farrington made guest appearances on several television shows in the late 1950s, including Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and Perry Mason. She died in San Diego at age 90.[15]
A stage actress named Betty Farrington was active during the late 19th and early 20th century and is described in a September 1914 Reading Eagle article as having "planned to retire this winter and spend the season at her home in Washington", but will instead appear "at the Grand Theatre [in Reading] on Monday evening, Sept. 14, in the leading role of the great American comedy drama, 'The Girl from Out Yonder'". The article subsequently states that, "she was the leading woman for the Orpheum Players during the latter part of the season of 1913–1914. Born in Middletown, Miss Farrington is distinctly a Pennsylvania girl". A later paragraph begins with the words, "[H]er relatives and friends in Reading have always followed her work closely…"[16]
There is no indication that the two Betty Farringtons were related, although the write-up in the IMDb for the film actress, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, who was 16 years old in 1914, states that "[S]he had formerly been with various stock companies and was a leading performer on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit in the 1910s".
