Quick Facts
| Intro | Actress | ||
| A.K.A. | Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter | ||
| Was | Actor Film actor Stage actor Television actor | ||
| From | United States of America | ||
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio | ||
| Gender | female | ||
| Birth | 1 September 1893, Los Angeles, USA | ||
| Death | 7 April 1972, Woodland Hills, USA (aged 78 years) | ||
| Star sign | Virgo | ||
| Family |
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Biography
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."
Career
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 life
Blythe was married to the movie director Paul Scardon from 1919 until his death in 1954. She reportedly made $3,500,000 when she sold a section of land that is now part of the Sunset Strip. She lost her fortune in the 1929 stock market crash. In May 1967, her forthcoming marriage to former film executive Manuel de Encio was announced.
Death
Betty Blythe died of a heart attack in Woodland Hills, California in 1972, aged 78. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Awards
For her contributions to the film industry, Betty Blythe has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1708 Vine Street.
Selected filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1915 | Bella Donna | dancer *uncredited | * see still photo at Bella Donna article |
| 1917 | His Own People | Lady Mary Thorne | |
| 1918 | The Green God | Muriel Temple | |
| 1918 | Hoarded Assets | Claire Dawson | |
| 1918 | Over the Top | Madame Arnot | |
| 1919 | Dust of Desire | Corrinne Torrence | |
| 1919 | The Undercurrent | Mariska | |
| 1920 | Nomads of the North | Nanette Roland | |
| Burnt Wings | Helen | ||
| 1921 | Mother o' Mine | Fan Baxter | |
| 1922 | How Women Love | Rosa Roma | |
| 1923 | Chu-Chin-Chow | Zahrat | |
| 1924 | Southern Love | Dolores | |
| The Spitfire | Jean Bronson | Lost film | |
| The Recoil | Norma Selbee | ||
| The Folly of Vanity | Mrs. Ridgeway | ||
| 1925 | Speed | Mary Whipple | |
| She | Ayesha | ||
| 1927 | Snowbound | Julia Barry | |
| Eager Lips | Paula | ||
| The Girl from Gay Paree | Mademoiselle Fanchon | ||
| 1928 | Glorious Betsy | Princess Fredericka | |
| Into No Man's Land | The Countess | ||
| The Mysterious Lady | singer in Opera | *uncredited | |
| 1931 | Adventure | ||
| 1932 | Tom Brown of Culver | Dolores Delight | |
| 1933 | Pilgrimage | Janet Prescot | |
| Only Yesterday | Mrs. Vincent | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | Night Alarm | Elizabeth Van Dusen | |
| Money Means Nothing | Mrs. Ferris | ||
| A Girl of the Limberlost | Mrs. Barker | ||
| 1935 | Anna Karenina | Woman | Uncredited |
| Cheers of the Crowd | Lil Langdon Walton | ||
| 1936 | Yours for the Asking | May | Uncredited |
| The Gorgeous Hussy | Mrs. Wainwright | ||
| 1937 | Topper | Mrs. Goodrich | Uncredited |
| Conquest | Princess Mirska | Uncredited Alternative title: Marie Walewska | |
| 1938 | Romance of the Limberlost | Mrs. Parker | |
| 1939 | The Women | Mrs. South | Uncredited |
| 1940 | Misbehaving Husbands | Effie Butler | |
| 1941 | Honky Tonk | Mrs. Wilson | |
| 1942 | Dawn on the Great Divide | Mrs. Elmira Corkle | |
| 1943 | Presenting Lily Mars | Dowanger | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Chinese Cat | Mrs. Manning | Alternative title: Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat |
| A Fig Leaf for Eve | Lavinia Sardham | Alternative titles: Desirable Lady, Flaming Girls, Hollywood Nights, Not Enough Clothes. Reckless Youth, Room for Love, Strips and Blondes | |
| 1945 | Her Highness and the Bellboy | Diplomat's Wife | Uncredited |
| They Were Expendable | Officer's Wife | Uncredited | |
| Adventure | Mrs. Buckley | Uncredited | |
| 1946 | The Kid from Brooklyn | Mrs. LeMoyne's friend | Uncredited |
| The Postman Always Rings Twice | Customer | Uncredited | |
| Undercurrent | Saleslady | Uncredited | |
| 1947 | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Floor Manager | Uncredited |
| Song of Love | Lady with Opera Glasses | Uncredited | |
| Cass Timberlane | Nurse | Uncredited | |
| Jiggs and Maggie in Society | Mrs. Vacuum | ||
| 1948 | Letter from an Unknown Woman | Frau Kohner | Uncredited |
| 1949 | The Barkleys of Broadway | Guest in Theater Lobby | Uncredited |
| Jiggs and Maggie in Jackpot Jitters | Mrs. Van Belden | ||
| 1950 | Jiggs and Maggie Out West | Society Woman | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Hollywood Story | Betty Blythe - Old-time Movie Star | |
| 1955 | The Lonesome Trail | Mrs. Wells | Uncredited |
| 1956 | Lust for Life | Dowanger | Uncredited |
| 1957 | The Helen Morgan Story | Party Guest | Uncredited |
| 1964 | My Fair Lady | Lady at Ball | Uncredited |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1952 | Racket Squad | Mrs. Burton | 1 episode |
| 1958 | The Lineup | Mrs. DeSues | 1 episode |
