Betty Hutton
b. 26 February 1921, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. While still a small child, Hutton began singing in the streets to help support her impoverished family. By her early teens she was already beginning to make a name for herself when she was hired by Vincent Lopez, then leader of a popular radio band. In 1940, by now known as The Blonde Bombshell in recognition of her fizzing vitality, Hutton appeared on Broadway and the following year was snapped up by Hollywood. She appeared in a string of popular musicals including STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM (1942), AND THE ANGELS SING (1944) and INCENDIARY BLONDE (1945). She also appeared in several non-musicals, among them THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK (1944). It was her appearance in the title role of Annie Get Your Gun (1950) that established her as a major star. Her energetic performance in this film gained her an international reputation, which she enhanced with roles in THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH and SOMEBODY LOVES ME (both 1952). However, contractual difficulties with the studio arose and her career came to an abrupt halt. She made a brief appearance in a 1957 film and was fleetingly on Broadway in 1965. Two years later she was financially broke and thereafter was rarely seen until a newspaper account of her poverty appeared in 1974. She was then a cook at a rectory in Rhode Island. Thereafter, she suffered a nervous breakdown and plans for a comeback were aborted. Her sister, Marion, two years her senior, was also a singer who worked with Glenn Miller's band.