Betty Garde

Katharine Elizabeth Garde[1] (September 19, 1905 – December 25, 1989) was an American stage, radio, film and television actress.

Betty Garde
Born
Katharine Elizabeth Garde

(1905-09-19)September 19, 1905
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedDecember 25, 1989(1989-12-25) (aged 84)
Sherman Oaks, California
OccupationActress
Years active1925–1971

Early years

Born in Philadelphia, Garde was starring in productions of South Philadelphia's Broadway Players by age 15. She attended the University of Pennsylvania.[2]

Stage

On the stage since the early 1920s, Garde made her Broadway debut as Alma Borden in Easy Come, Easy Go (1925–1926) and played character roles in productions including The Social Register (1931–1932) and The Primrose Path (1939). A tall woman, standing 5'10", she was cast as Aunt Eller in the original 1943 Broadway production of Oklahoma! She also portrayed Mrs. Gordon in Agatha Sue, I Love You (1966).[3][4]

Radio

After joining CBS in 1933,[2] Garde began to work extensively in radio, performing on some three dozen shows including Lorenzo Jones, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, The Big Story, The Eddie Cantor Show (on which she played "all the women roles"),[2] Front Page Farrell, Maudie's Diary, Perry Mason, Theatre Guild on the Air and The Fat Man.[3] In 1934 Garde worked with Orson Welles on the CBS Radio series The American School of the Air, and she later performed in Welles' radio series including Les Misérables, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, The Campbell Playhouse and Ceiling Unlimited.[5]

Film

Garde's first three credited Hollywood film roles are in the early "talkies" The Lady Lies (1929), Damaged Love (1930), and Queen High (1930).[6] Among her more notable later performances are in the film noir productions Call Northside 777 (1948), in which she plays a prosecution witness whose testimony convicts an innocent man; in Cry of the City (1948) as Miss Pruett; and in Caged (1950), as a murderous prison inmate.[3]

Television

Her television credits include appearances on The Honeymooners as the Kramdens' maid, Thelma; on The Real McCoys as a farmer, Aggie Larkin; and on two episodes of The Twilight Zone, including "The Midnight Sun", opposite Lois Nettleton.

Death

Betty Garde died December 25, 1989,[7] at the age of 84 in a hospital in Sherman Oaks, California. No cause was given and there were no immediate survivors.[1] Her body was returned to her home state of Pennsylvania and interred at Westminster Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.[8]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1929 The Lady Lies Hilda Pearson
1930 Queen High Florence Cole
1931 Damaged Love Madge Sloan
The Girl Habit Hattie Henry
1948 Call Northside 777 Wanda Skutnik Alternative title: Calling Northside 777
Cry of the City Miss Pruett
1950 Caged Kitty Stark
1951 The Prince Who Was a Thief Mirza
1955 One Desire Mrs. O'Dell
1962 The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm Miss Bettenhausen
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Big Story Annie 1 episode
1950–1951 Suspense 3 episodes
1954 The Mask Mrs. Novak 1 episode
1955 The Honeymooners Thelma 1 episode
1955–1959 The United States Steel Hour Mom
Mrs. Flynn		 2 episodes
1956 General Electric Theater Annie 1 episode
The Edge of Night Mattie Lane Grimsley Unknown episodes
1957 Decoy Landlady 1 episode
1957–1959 As the World Turns Miss Tyler Unknown episodes
1959 Mr. Lucky Maybelle Towers 1 episode
1959–1960 The Real McCoys Aggie Larkin 2 episodes
The Untouchables Norma Guzik
Alice		 2 episodes
1960 The Chevy Mystery Show Mrs. Andrews 1 episode
Adventures in Paradise Queen Atea 1 episode
1961 The Islanders Mme. Arbedutian 1 episode
Shirley Temple's Storybook The Flowerwoman 1 episode
Checkmate Sara 1 episode
Route 66 Lydia Sullivan 1 episode
The Twilight Zone Passenger
Mrs. Bronson		 2 episodes
1962 Ben Casey Florabelle Hanks 1 episode
Car 54, Where Are You? Ma Dearheart 1 episode
1971 All the Way Home Aunt Sadie Follet Television movie, (final film role)

References
  1. "Betty Garde, 84, Dies; Actress in 'Oklahoma!'". The New York Times. December 28, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  2. "Betty Garde Is Happy These Days; Cantor Calls Her a Great Actress". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California: Tribune Publishing Company. April 12, 1936. p. 83. Retrieved January 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Betty Garde, 84; Radio Actress Also Played Broadway, Films". Los Angeles Times. December 27, 1989. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  4. "Betty Garde". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  5. Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter (1992). Rosenbaum, Jonathan (ed.). This is Orson Welles. New York City: HarperCollins. pp. 331, 338, 357, 376. ISBN 0-06-016616-9.
  6. "Betty Garde", filmography, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, New York, N.Y. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  7. DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2.
  8. Sydney, Sissy (2012). "Betty Garde". Find a Grave. Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
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