Happy Birthday, Betty Hutton 1921-2007...Singer, dancer and stage, film and television actress, Hutton was described by the NY Times as a, "brassy, energetic performer with a voice that could sound like a fire alarm."
She was raised by a single mother and began singing in the family owned speak-easy at the age of three. As a teenager she sang in local bands and at one point visited New York to try to make it on Broadway but was rejected. She started singing in local clubs in Detroit and was eventually picked up by the Vincent Lopez orchestra which lead to her making some short musical movies in 1939.
She finally made it Broadway in 1940 in "Two for the Show." She signed with Paramount in 1941 where she would make 14 films in 11 years including, "Happy Go Lucky", "Annie Get Your Gun". "Let's Dance" (getting top billing over Fred Astaire) and "Incendiary Blonde".
In 1952, after a contract dispute, she left films for Broadway, nightclubs and concerts. She spent the next 12 years also appearing in television shows like "Gunsmoke" and "Burke's Law". In 1967 her life turned to despair when her mother died in a house fire and she divorced her 4th husband leading her to bankruptcy. Her addiction to pills lead to attempted suicide but she entered rehab and in 1974 she entered Regina University earning a master's degree and an honorary Ph.D. She spent the rest of her life teaching singing and acting at Regina and Boston Universities. Her last public performance was on "Jukebox Saturday Night" on PBS in 1983.
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