Betty Grable

Betty Grable Biography

Ruth Elizabeth Grable was born on December 18, 1916, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother was a stubborn and materialistic woman who was determined to make her daughter a star. Ruth, who later became Betty, was enrolled in Clark's Dancing School at the age of 3. With her mother's guidance, Betty studied ballet and tap-dancing. At 13, Betty and her mother set out for Hollywood with the hopes of stardom. Lillian lied about her daughter's age, and Ruth landed several minor parts in films such as such as WHOOPEE!, NEW MOVIETONE FOLLIES, HAPPY DAYS and LET'S GO PLACES, all in 1930.

In 1932, she signed with RKO Studio. The bit parts continued for the next three years. Betty finally landed a substantial part in 1934's BY YOUR LEAVE. One of her big roles was in COLLEGE SWING, released in 1936.

Unfortunately, the public didn't seem to take notice. She was beginning to think she was a failure. The next year, she married former child star Jackie Coogan. His success boosted hers but they divorced in 1940. When she landed the role of Glenda Crawford in DOWN ARGENTINE WAY (1940), the public took notice of this shining bright star.

Stardom came through comedies such as CONEY ISLAND and SWEET ROSIE O'GRADY, both in 1943. The public was enchanted with Betty. Her famous pin-up pose during World War II adorned barracks all around the world. With the pin-up and as the star of lavish musicals, Betty became the highest paid star in Hollywood.

After the war, her star continued to rise. In 1947, the US Treasury Department noted that she was the highest paid star in America, earning about $300,000 a year-- a phenomenal sum even by today's standards. Later, Fox Studio, who had her under contract, insured her legs with Lloyd's of London for a million dollars.

Betty continued to be popular until the mid-fifties when musicals went into a decline. Her last film, entitled HOW TO BE VERY, VERY POPULAR, was released in 1955. She then concentrated on Broadway and nightclubs. In 1965, she divorced bandleader Harry James, whom she had wed in 1943.

Betty died of cancer on July 2, 1973 in Santa Monica, California. Betty's life was an active one, minus the scandals that plagued many stars in one way or the other. In reality, she cared more for her family and the family life more than stardom. In that way, she was a true star.


Her sensational bathing-suit photo, with her head looking over her right shoulder, became the number-one pin-up girl of the WWII era. It was later included in Life 100 Photos that Changed the World.

Grable was best-known for her shapely legs, which were showcased in all of her 20th Century Fox Technicolor musicals and were famously insured by her studio for $1,000,000 per leg at Lloyds of London.

She was born Elizabeth Ruth Grable in St. Louis, Missouri to John C. Grable (1883-1954) and Lillian Rose Hofmann (1889-1964). Betty was the youngest of three children.

Most of Grable's recent ancestors were American, but her distant heritage included Dutch, Irish, German and English. She was propelled into acting by her mother, who insisted that one of her daughters become a star. For her first role, as a chorus girl in the movie Happy Days (1929), Grable was only 13 years old (legally underage for acting), but, because the chorus line performed in blackface, it was impossible to tell how old she was. Her motherLillian soon gave her a make-over which included dying her hair platinum blonde.

For her next film, her mother got her a contract using a false identification. When this deception was discovered, however, Grable was fired. Grable finally obtained a role as a 'Goldwyn Girl' in Whoopee! (1930), starring Eddie Cantor. Though Grable received no billing, she led the opening number, "Cowboys." Grable then worked in small roles at different studios for the rest of the decade, including the Academy Award-nominated The Gay Divorcee (1934), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

The same year that she divorced Coogan, Grable obtained a contract with 20th Century Fox, becoming their top star throughout the decade, with splashy Technicolor movies such as Down Argentine Way (1940), Moon Over Miami (1941) (both with Don Ameche), Springtime in The Rockies (1942),Coney Island (1943) with George Montgomery , Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) with Robert Young, Pin Up Girl (1944), Diamond Horseshoe (1945) with Dick Haymes, The Dolly Sisters (1945) with John Payne and June Haver, and her most popular film Mother Wore Tights (1947), with favorite costar Dan Dailey.

Her postwar musicals included That Lady in Ermine (1948) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948) again with Dailey, Wabash Avenue (1950) (a remake of Grable's ownConey Island) with Victor Mature, My Blue Heaven (1950), and Meet Me After the Show (1951). Studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck lavished his number one star with expensive Technicolor films, but also kept her busy — Grable made nearly twenty-five musicals/comedies in thirteen years. Grable's last big hit for Fox was How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe.

In 1943, she married jazz trumpeter and big band leader Harry James. The couple had two daughters, Victoria and Jessica. They endured a tumultuous 22-year-long marriage that was plagued by alcoholism and infidelity. Betty finally divorced Harry in 1965. She soon entered into a relationship with a dancer, Bob Remick, who was less than half her age. Though they didn't marry, their romance lasted until the end of Betty's life.

Grable's later career was marked by feuds with studio heads, who worked her to exhaustion. At one point, in the middle of a fight with Darryl F. Zanuck, she tore up her contract with him and stormed out of his office. Gradually leaving movies entirely, she made the transition to television and starred in Las Vegas. In 1967, Betty took over the lead in the touring company of Hello, Dolly, and in 1973 starred in a new musical called Belle Starr in London. The British public had loyal sentiments about Betty that went back to her World War Two pin-up days, but after the play was savaged by the critics, it soon folded.

She died of lung cancer at age 56 in Santa Monica, California. Betty had been a heavy smoker, and often smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. Her funeral was held July 5, 1973, thirty years to the day after her marriage to Harry James -- who, in turn, died on what would have been his and Grable's 40th anniversary, July 5, 1983. She is interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

Grable has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6525 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. She also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy noted on National Public Radio's Morning Edition on April 23, 2007, in an interview with Terry Gross that Betty was his inspiration for founding the Playboy empire.

Grable was known by many nicknames including "Box-Office Betty" and "The Girl With The Million Dollar Legs."