Betty Furness

Acting

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. She began her professional career as a model before being noticed by a talent scout and being signed to a film contract in 1932 by RKO Studios. Her first film role was as the "Thirteenth Woman" in the film Thirteen Women (1932) but her scenes were deleted before the film's release. Over the next few years, she appeared in several RKO films, and became a popular actress. Among her film successes were Magnificent Obsession (1935) and the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Swing Time (1936). By the end of the decade, she had appeared in over forty films, but during the 1940s, she found it difficult to secure acting roles. In 1948, Furness was performing in the television series Studio One, which was broadcast live. She filled in for an actor to promote Westinghouse products during the advertisement break, and impressed the company with her easy and professional manner. They offered her a contract to promote their products and she thus became closely associated with them.

Filmography Movies

Acting

MOVIE

Swing Time

6.8(0.3K)

Lucky is tricked into missing his own wedding to Margaret and has to make $25,000 so her father will allow him to marry her. He and business partner Pop go to New York where they run into dancing instructor Penny. She and Lucky form a successful dance partnership, but romance is blighted by his old attachment to Margaret and hers for Ricky.

The Rockingham Tea Set

10.0(0.0K)

To keep her former fiancé from leaving her, a neurotic young woman (Louise Allbritton) fakes a riding accident, and feigns paralysis of her lower body. When her graceful nurse (Grace Kelly) discovers her treachery, she resorts to a final and desperate act of revenge.

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The Rockingham Tea Set

Self - Commercial Spokeswoman

MOVIE

The Kill

8.0(0.0K)

Jeff and his family just moved into a small, rural community. When two sinister locals tamper with Jeff's water pump, a fight breaks out among the three. Jeff is seen as a fugitive in the eyes of this bloodthirsty community...and there seems to be no way to stop them. Studio One, Season 5, Episode 1.

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The Kill

Self - Commercial Spokeswoman

MOVIE

Flying Down to Rio

6.3(0.1K)

An American bandleader woos a Brazilian beauty who is already engaged to his employer. His friends try to help him, while learning the local dance, The Carioca. The first pairing of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, and their only pre-Code film.

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Flying Down to Rio

Belinha's Friend (uncredited)

MOVIE

The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus

4.0(0.0K)

The birth of Jesus and the serene Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.

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The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus

Self

MOVIE

Magnificent Obsession

7.4(0.0K)

A playboy tries to redeem himself after his careless behavior causes a great man's death.

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Magnificent Obsession

Joyce Hudson

MOVIE

Emergency Call

6.3(0.0K)

A surgeon and an ambulance driver fight racketeers who take over their hospital.

The President's Mystery

5.8(0.0K)

The screenplay for this mystery is based upon a story suggested to Liberty Magazine by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is the tale of a prominent lawyer who shocks his snooty friends, family and colleagues by abruptly abandoning his successful practice and his wife to find true happiness. He soon falls in love with another woman and continues to keep a low profile until he learns that his first wife stands accused of murdering him

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The President's Mystery

Charlotte Brown

MOVIE

Beggars in Ermine

7.3(0.0K)

John Dawson loses control of his factory when he is crippled in an accident caused by a rival. Destitute, he travels the country organizing the homeless to help him regain control of his steel mill.

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Beggars in Ermine

Joyce Dawson