Betty Hutton

[TwiceHorn 31667]

So, my intro to Betty Hutton some years ago was the song Hit the Road to Dreamland, used to great effect in one of the greatest of all films, LA Confidental.

Her hit It's So Quiet has been featured in a couple of recent ad spots, for teh facing book and Acura.

She had a pretty decent career in wartime movies, and an early TV variety show.

Pretty powerful voice, and sort of unique phrasing.

The only thing that's really remarkable is that my parents were her age and managed somehow to introduce me to "stars" of that era.  And I'd never heard of her until LA Confidential.

And had hits with a lot of the Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer catalog, which my parents tended to be huge fans of.  

Did I just somehow miss a well-known star of that era, or is she obscure?

[Braff Zacklin 13671]

I have a Victory Motel t-shirt that an ex gf bought for me several years ago. It's currently in the wash.

[RPM 26417]

You don't want to know her backstory. Weinstein was a Boy Scout.

[TwiceHorn 31667]

22 minutes ago, RPM said:

You don't want to know her backstory. Weinstein was a Boy Scout.

Was she an abused starlet?  Her wiki doesn't mention that and doesn't tend to shy away from those things.

[RPM 26417]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Was she an abused starlet?

And then some. There was no "Me too" movement back then. She became an alcoholic and "had a breakdown."

[Vito Andolini 9135]

I’d like to learn more about that, old Hollywood stories are pretty fascinating (not to revel in Ms. Hutton’s misery). 

The best of the worst was Jean Harlow and that fucker Paul Bern she was married to. Big Hollywood mogul, tiny micro dick. Real sick fuck.

(And I have to admit, when I first saw this topic, I thought of Betty Grable, who made a career out of showing her ass in pinup photos. Allegedly helped the American boys win the war. I guess they could concentrate more on killing the enemy after blowing a load.)

[Vito Andolini 9135]

Tried to edit the above, but it said I timed out. Anyway, my background on the Bern/Harlow story was primarily from the tell-all “Hollywood Babylon” by Kenneth Anger, and that’s apparently been mostly discredited, so who knows the truth. But it’s a fun read, if you like sleaze. 

[RPM 26417]

TCM had a great interview with her and Robert Osborne. That's where I heard of it. I'm sure it's on the web somewhere.

[TwiceHorn 31667]

3 hours ago, RPM said:

And then some. There was no "Me too" movement back then. She became an alcoholic and "had a breakdown."

Well, from a couple of online sources, she came by alcoholism and addiction honestly, by inheritance.

I know abuse of young starlets was, and apparently still is, pretty common, but so is unhappiness among entertainment people, generally speaking, that manifests in bad marriages and drugs and alcohol.