Betty Blythe

Betty Blythe

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Betty Blythe (born Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter, September 1, 1893 – April 7, 1972) was an American actress best known for her dramatic roles in exotic silent films such as The Queen of Sheba (1921). She appeared in 63 silent films and 56 talking pictures (known as talkies) over the course of her career.

She is famous for being one of the first actresses to appear on film in the nude, or nearly so, during the Roaring Twenties.

She is reported to have said, "A director is the only man besides your husband who can tell you how much of your clothes to take off."

Blythe began her stage work in such theatrical pieces as So Long Letty and The Peacock Princess. She worked in vaudeville as the "California Nightingale" singing songs such as "Love Tales from Hoffman".

After touring Europe and the States, she entered films in 1918 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, then she was brought to Hollywood's Fox studio as a replacement for actress Theda Bara.

As famous for her revealing costumes as for her dramatic skills, she became a star in such exotic films as The Queen of Sheba (1921) (in which she wore nothing above the waist except a string of beads), Chu-Chin-Chow (made in 1923; released by MGM in the US 1925) and She (1925).

She was also seen to good advantage in less revealing films like Nomads of the North (1920) with Lon Chaney and In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter (1924), produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

Other roles were as an opera star, unbilled in Garbo's The Mysterious Lady. She continued to work as a character actress. One of her last roles was a small uncredited role in a crowd scene in 1964's My Fair Lady.

Betty Blythe's name lives on through the Betty Blythe Vintage TeaRoom in West Kensington.

Personal info

Gender

Female

Birthday

1893-08-31

Place of birth

Los Angeles, California, USA

Images

Cast

The Women

The Women

1939

7.13

Slander

Slander

1916

3.00

Percy

Percy

1925

0.00

Crime Doctor

Crime Doctor

1943

6.20

Lena Rivers

Lena Rivers

1932

5.50

She

She

1925

5.70

Over the Top

Over the Top

1918

0.00

Adventure

Adventure

1945

6.20

Sarong Girl

Sarong Girl

1943

0.00

Night Alarm

Night Alarm

1934

3.70

Back Street

Back Street

1932

6.10

Stolen Love

Stolen Love

1928

0.00

Puddin' Head

Puddin' Head

1941

5.00

Sis Hopkins

Sis Hopkins

1941

6.00

Espionage

Espionage

1937

6.50

Piano Mooner

Piano Mooner

1942

0.00

Topper

Topper

1937

6.73

Our Wife

Our Wife

1941

5.70

Bar 20

Bar 20

1943

3.80

Honky Tonk

Honky Tonk

1941

6.40

Luxury Liner

Luxury Liner

1948

5.20

Disraeli

Disraeli

1921

0.00

Charge It

Charge It

1921

0.00

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady

1964

7.51

Snowbound

Snowbound

1927

0.00

Undercurrent

Undercurrent

1946

5.80

Inflation

Inflation

1942

5.00

Fair Lady

Fair Lady

1922

0.00

Burnt Wings

Burnt Wings

1920

0.00

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

1933

6.85