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
- Ellis in Freedomland as Spokeswoman for Westinghouse
- The Kill as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
- 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
- The Rockingham Tea Set as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
- Studio One: Wuthering Heights as Announcer
1948
- The Philco Television Playhouse
- Studio One as Coral, Princess Livitski
1939
- North of Shanghai as Helen Warner
1937
- Fair Warning as Kate Farnham
- They Wanted to Marry as Sheila Hunter
- It Can't Last Forever as Carol Wilson
- Mama Steps Out as Leila Cuppy
- The Good Old Soak as Lucy Hawley
1936
- Swing Time as Margaret Watson
- Mister Cinderella as Patricia 'Pat' Randolph
- The President's Mystery as Charlotte Brown
- Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
- All American Chump as Kitty Crane
- The Three Wise Guys as Clarabelle Brooks
1935
- The Keeper of the Bees as Molly
- Here Comes Cookie as Phyllis Allen
- Shadow of Doubt as Lisa
- Magnificent Obsession as Joyce Hudson
- McFadden´s Flats as Molly McFadden
- Calm Yourself as Mary Elizabeth Allenby
1934
- The Life of Vergie Winters as Joan Shadwell
- A Wicked Woman as Yancey Stroud, aka Yancey Trice
- Gridiron Flash as Jane Thurston
- The Band Plays On as Kitty O'Brien
- Beggars in Ermine as Joyce Dawson
- Dangerous Corner as Mrs. Betty Whitehouse
1933
- Flying Down to Rio as Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
- Ace of Aces as Card Playing Party Guest (uncredited)
- Cross Fire as Pat "Mike" Plummer
- Lucky Devils as Ginger
- Emergency Call as Alice Averill
- Headline Shooter as Miss Saunders
- Let's Fall in Love as Linda
- The Great Jasper as Sylvia Bradfield
- Scarlet River as Babe Jewel
- Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men as Evangeline
- Midshipman Jack as Ruth Rogers
1932
- Renegades of the West as Mary Fawcett