Betty Field (February 8, 1916 – September 13, 1973) was an American film and stage actress.

Early years

Field was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Katharine (née Lynch) Field. She began acting before she reached age 15, and went into stock theater immediately after graduating from high school. She attended the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ar ...

in New York City. Producer/director

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Y ...

is credited with having discovered Field.

Stage

Field began her acting career in 1934 on the London stage in Howard Lindsay's farce ''She Loves Me Not''. Following its run, she returned to the United States, and appeared in several stage successes, then made her film debut in 1939. Field's Broadway credits include ''Page Miss Glory'' (1934), ''

Room Service Room service or in-room dining is a hotel service enabling guests to choose items of food and drink for delivery to their hotel room for consumption. Room service is organized as a subdivision within the food and beverage department of high-end ...

'' (1937), ''Angel Island'' (1937), ''If I Were You'' (1938), ''What a Life'' (1938), ''The Primrose'' (1939), ''Ring Two'' (1939), ''Two on an Island'' (1940), ''Flight to the West'' (1940), ''A New Life'' (1943), '' The Voice of the Turtle'' (1943), '' Dream Girl'' (1945), ''The Rat Race'' (1949), '' Not for Children'' (1951), ''

The Fourposter ''The Fourposter'' is a play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans 35 years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and Michael ...

'' (1951), ''The Ladies of the Corridor'' (1953), ''Festival'' (1955), ''

The Waltz of the Toreadors ''The Waltz of the Toreadors'' (''La Valse des toréadors'') is a 1951 play by Jean Anouilh. Plot This bitter farce is set in 1910 France and focuses on General Léon Saint-Pé and his infatuation with Ghislaine, a woman with whom he danced at a ...

'' (1958), ''

A Touch of the Poet ''A Touch of the Poet'' is a play by Eugene O'Neill completed in 1942 but not performed until 1958, after his death. It and its sequel, '' More Stately Mansions'', were intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled ''A Tale of Possessors S ...

'' (1958), ''A Loss of Roses'' (1959), ''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...

'' (1963), ''Where's Daddy?'' (1966), and '' All Over'' (1971). Her final stage performances were in three productions at

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

in 1971.

Film

Zachary Scott-Betty Field in The Southerner

Field had to overcome obstacles early in her film career. A 1942 newspaper article reported:

When Betty Field was first signed for pictures, conversation buzzed. "But she's not pretty," was the first objection. "And her mouth is too large."

Field's role as Mae, the sole female character, in ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job ...

'' (1939) established her as a dramatic actress. She starred opposite John Wayne in the 1941 movie '' The Shepherd of the Hills''. Field played a supporting, yet significant role as Cassandra Tower in ''

Kings Row ''Kings Row'' is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Betty Field that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century. The picture was directed by Sam W ...

'' (1942). A life member of The Actors Studio, Field preferred performing on Broadway and appeared in

Elmer Rice Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays ''The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, ''Street Sce ...

's '' Dream Girl'' and

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an ad ...

's ''

'', but returned to Hollywood regularly, appearing in '' Flesh and Fantasy'' (1943), '' The Southerner'' (1945), as Daisy Buchanan in ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsb ...

'' (1949) with

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lak ...

, ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as precedi ...

'' (1955) with

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

and

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...

, '' Bus Stop'' (1956) with

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, '' Peyton Place'' (1957) (for which she was nominated for a

Laurel Award The Laurel Awards was an American cinema awards system established to honor films, actors, actresses, producers, directors, and composers. This award was created by the ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' magazine, and ran from 1948 to 1971 (with t ...

), '' Hound-Dog Man'' (1959) with Carol Lynley and Stuart Whitman, ''

Butterfield 8 ''BUtterfield 8'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel of the same na ...

'' (1960) with

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

, '' Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962) with

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

, '' 7 Women'' (1966) with Anne Bancroft and '' How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life'' (1968) with

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

and Stella Stevens. Her final film role was in '' Coogan's Bluff'' with

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' D ...

and Susan Clark in 1968.

TV and radio

She also appeared on television series such as Route 66, season 1, episode 3 The Swan Bed,''

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' was an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition s ...

'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'', '' Dr. Kildare'', and many more. Field played Mary Aldrich on the radio in ''

The Aldrich Family ''The Aldrich Family'', a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953), was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-''reeeee ...

''.Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 19.

Personal life

Her first marriage to playwright

ended in divorce in May 1956. The couple had three children, John, Paul, and Judith. John became a lawyer, but he died in a swimming accident at age 40. Her second marriage to Edwin J. Lukas lasted from 1957 to 1967. Her third marriage to Raymond Olivere lasted from 1968 until her death in 1973. Field died from a cerebral hemorrhage on September 13, 1973, at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts, aged 57. (Another source says she was 55.)

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Betty Field
at the

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

''Betty Field'' North American Theater Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Betty 1916 births 1973 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American radio actresses Actresses from Boston 20th-century American actresses