Betty Walker (August 7, 1928 – July 26, 1982) was a Jewish-American actress and comedian who performed primarily during the 1950s and 1960s.
Life and career
Walker was born Edith Seeman in
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Latvian Jewish immigrants. She acted in the original cast of
Paddy Chayefsky
Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (; January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays.
He w ...
's play ''Middle of the Night'', which first premiered in 1956, and she reprised her role as the Widow for the
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
adaptation three years later. In addition to performing in Chayefsky's play '' The Passion of Josef D,'' she acted in a number of other television dramas, such as ''Decoy,
Playhouse 90
''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...
,'' and '' The Doctors,'' playing a patient named Polly Merriweather in Dec. 1967.
As a popular comedian of the 1950s and 1960s, Walker was best known for her "telephone act", wherein she delivered a monologue to her unseen friend "Ceil" at the other end of the line. The humor of this act draws upon the Jewish stereotypes of the " overbearing mother", which had gained popularity originally in Jewish joke books after World War II. While the "Jewish mother" trope gained popularity in newer venues, such as on television, in print, and on comedy albums, notably, she was often personified in these media through her "son's vision" of her. It is also notable, then, that Walker actively assumed these traits, which gave he transgressive mimetic power over them. Walker made guest appearances on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...
'', ''
The Merv Griffin Show
''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...
'', ''
The Mike Douglas Show
''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...
'', and ''
The Steve Allen Show
''The Steve Allen Show'' is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,
,'' where she often performed her monologue to "Ceil."
Walker released or performed on several comedy albums, including:
* ''Love and Laughter'' – 1960
* ''Hello, Ceil It's Me!!!'' – 1964
* ''
You Don't Have to Be Jewish
''You Don't Have to be Jewish'' is a 1965 comedy album written by Bob Booker and George Foster, the team behind the 1962 comedy album '' The First Family''.William D. Laffler. "What's new in records: famed Tijuana Brass given 'Jewish' takeoff" ...
'' – 1965 (performer)
* ''When You're in Love the Whole World Is Jewish'' – 1966 (performer)
* ''The Yiddish Are Coming, The Yiddish Are Coming'' – 1967 (performer)
* ''Hum-Hum-Hum'' – 1969
* ''Aunt Lena and Her Entire Family Circle'' – 1979
Death
Walker died from
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
on July 26, 1982, 12 days before her 54th birthday.
Critical reception
In the 1960 review of her debut album ''Love and Laughter,'' ''Billboard'' stated that she is "One of the theater's and the movies' top character actresses" and an "engaging comedienne" before concluding, "much that is funny is here." The reception of this album in the historically Jewish city of Newark suggests its popularity within concentrated Jewish communities: in another'' Billboard'' article on how radio stations are breaking up traditional news programs with comedy clips, the commentator for Newark's WNTA station noted that record sales in the area for her album greatly benefited from on-air exposure.
Bob Booker and George Foster's album on which Walker played a leading role, ''
You Don't Have to Be Jewish
''You Don't Have to be Jewish'' is a 1965 comedy album written by Bob Booker and George Foster, the team behind the 1962 comedy album '' The First Family''.William D. Laffler. "What's new in records: famed Tijuana Brass given 'Jewish' takeoff" ...
,'' was a commercial and critical success. In a 1965 newspaper, journalist
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...
jokes that, as "the No. 1 seller in suburbia", "It has replaced the fountain pen at bar mitzvahs." Like her other albums, Walker's humor is rooted in her portrayal of Jewish women who are loud, outspoken, and speak in a drawn-out Long Island accent. On account of its success, Booker and Foster released two more sequels, ''When You're in Love the Whole World Is Jewish'' and ''The Yiddish Are Coming, The Yiddish Are Coming.'' Walker was an integral performer on both.
Posthumous
Walker was designated one of the "Queens of Comedy" along with
Jean Carroll
Jean Carroll (born Celine Zeigman, January 7, 1911 – January 1, 2010) was an American actress and comedian during the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography
Jean Carroll was born Celine Zeigman on January 7, 1911, in Paris. She began her career as part ...
,
Totie Fields
Totie Fields (born Sophie Feldman; May 7, 1930 – August 2, 1978) was an American comedian.
Early life
Fields was born Sophie Feldman in Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut. She started singing in Boston clubs while still in high schoo ...
, and
Belle Barth
Belle Barth (born Annabelle Salzman, April 27, 1911 – February 14, 1971) was a Jewish American comedian who worked primarily during the 1950s and 1960s. She was known for her foul mouthed, bawdy, irreverent humor.
Comedy career
Annabelle ...
in Corey Kahaney's innovative stand-up showcase ''The J.A.P. Show: Jewish American Princesses of Comedy''. Along with
Cathy Ladman
Cathy Ladman is an American stand-up comedian, television writer, and actress. She was featured in an installment of HBO's ''One Night Stand'' comedy series, was a guest on ''The Tonight Show'' on ten occasions (1989-1992, 2023), and a guest o ...
, Jessica Kirson, and
Jackie Hoffman
Jacqueline Laura Hoffman (born November 29, 1960) is an American actress, singer, and comedian known for her one-woman shows of Jewish-themed original songs and monologues. She is a veteran of Chicago's famed The Second City comedy improv group. ...
, Kahaney honors these four "queens" in the show by interspersing footage from their routines throughout her own.