BETTY GARRETT
1919-2011
Betty Garrett, star of stage, screen and television, died Saturday morning of natural causes at UCLA Medical Center following a brief illness. She was surrounded by her family at the time of her death. She was 91.
A revered figure in the Los Angeles theater community, she was the recipient of nearly every artistic award that could be bestowed, including Career Achievement Awards from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and the Ovation Awards, and the Queen of the Angels Award from LA Weekly. She was a founding member of the 49-year-old Theatre West, and was moderator of its Musical Comedy Workshop until the time of her death. She frequently appeared on the Theatre West stage. Her final shows there included Nunsense, the Los Angeles premiere of Noel Coward’s Waiting in the Wings and a revue, Betty Garrett, Closet Songwriter.
She starred in 13 Broadway shows, among them Call Me Mister, Bells Are Ringing, The Supporting Cast, Meet Me in St. Louis, the revival of Follies and the 1963 production of Spoon River Anthology originally developed at Theatre West.
She appeared in a dozen films, including classic Hollywood musicals Words and Music, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Neptune’s Daughter, On the Town, Hit Parade of 1951 and My Sister Eileen.
She was also a popular television performer, best known for her work on All in the Family, for which she received a Golden Globe Award, and Laverne and Shirley. She received an Emmy nomination in 2003 for a guest appearance on Becker. Her final TV appearance was on Grey’s Anatomy in 2006.
Betty Garrett received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
A longtime social activist, in her later years she was active in supporting activities of charities assisting those living with HIV/AIDS.
Widowed in 1975 from the late actor Larry Parks, she is survived by her son, actor Andrew Parks, and his wife Katy Melody; her son, composer Garrett Parks, and his wife, actor Karen Culliver Parks; and a granddaughter, Madison Claire Parks.
A memorial will be planned for a later date. Donations in Ms. Garrett’s memory can be made to Theatre West, the Actors’ Fund or S.T.A.G.E.
