Betty Furness
Born: 1916-01-03 in New York City, New York, USA
Died: 1994-04-02
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. She began her professional career as a model before being noticed by a talent scout and being signed to a film contract in 1932 by RKO Studios. Her first film role was as the "Thirteenth Woman" in the film Thirteen Women (1932) but her scenes were deleted before the film's release. Over the next few years, she appeared in several RKO films, and became a popular actress. Among her film successes were Magnificent Obsession (1935) and the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Swing Time (1936). By the end of the decade, she had appeared in over forty films, but during the 1940s, she found it difficult to secure acting roles. In 1948, Furness was performing in the television series Studio One, which was broadcast live. She filled in for an actor to promote Westinghouse products during the advertisement break, and impressed the company with her easy and professional manner. They offered her a contract to promote their products and she thus became closely associated with them.
Filmography
1959
- Westinghouse Total Electric Home as Narrator
1958
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
1957
- The Defender (Studio One) as Self / Commercial Spokeswoman
1954
- Climax! as Beth Jaynes
- Twelve Angry Men as Herself / Commercial Spokeswoman
1952
- The Kill as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
- Ellis in Freedomland as Spokeswoman for Westinghouse
- Pontius Pilate
- The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus as Self
1951
- A Bolt of Lightning as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
1950
- What's My Line? as Self
- The Colgate Comedy Hour as Maggie Watson
- Your Show of Shows as Herself
- Studio One: Wuthering Heights as Announcer
- The Rockingham Tea Set as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
1948
- The Philco Television Playhouse
- Studio One as Coral, Princess Livitski
1939
- North of Shanghai as Helen Warner
1937
- Fair Warning as Kate Farnham
- It Can't Last Forever as Carol Wilson
- Mama Steps Out as Leila Cuppy
- They Wanted to Marry as Sheila Hunter
- The Good Old Soak as Lucy Hawley
1936
- Swing Time as Margaret Watson
- Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
- Mister Cinderella as Patricia 'Pat' Randolph
- All American Chump as Kitty Crane
- The President's Mystery as Charlotte Brown
- The Three Wise Guys as Clarabelle Brooks
1935
- Magnificent Obsession as Joyce Hudson
- McFadden´s Flats as Molly McFadden
- Shadow of Doubt as Lisa
- Here Comes Cookie as Phyllis Allen
- Calm Yourself as Mary Elizabeth Allenby
- The Keeper of the Bees as Molly
1934
- A Wicked Woman as Yancey Stroud, aka Yancey Trice
- Dangerous Corner as Mrs. Betty Whitehouse
- The Life of Vergie Winters as Joan Shadwell
- Gridiron Flash as Jane Thurston
- Beggars in Ermine as Joyce Dawson
- The Band Plays On as Kitty O'Brien
1933
- Flying Down to Rio as Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
- Ace of Aces as Card Playing Party Guest (uncredited)
- Emergency Call as Alice Averill
- The Great Jasper as Sylvia Bradfield
- Scarlet River as Babe Jewel
- Headline Shooter as Miss Saunders
- Midshipman Jack as Ruth Rogers
- Let's Fall in Love as Linda
- Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men as Evangeline
- Lucky Devils as Ginger
- Cross Fire as Pat "Mike" Plummer
1932
- Renegades of the West as Mary Fawcett