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I've always had a soft spot for Betty Grable. I'm not precisely sure how she first came to my attention, but I'd be willing to bet it came from my Marilyn Monroe infatuation, and the fact the two ladies co-starred in HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE together in 1953.
Betty Grable started her movie career in 1929, at the very end of the silent era. She worked in a variety of B-movies throughout the 1930s, holding contracts with various different producers and studios. She was always singled out for her curvaceous body and girl-next-door cuteness, and she derived one of her first public nicknames from the film MILLION DOLLAR LEGS (1939), a low-budget comedy that publicized her soon-to-be famous legs. It was producer Buddy DeSylva that decided to champion her and bring her over to Broadway to star in DUBARRY WAS A LADY that same year. Her success in that show brought her to the attention of 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. At the time, Zanuck was looking for a capable musical actress to replace the suddenly ill Alice Faye, Fox's big musical star, in the film DOWN ARGENTINE WAY. Grable impressed Zanuck enough, and the rest, as they say, is film history.
Grable became the biggest moneymaker for Fox throughout the 1940s. She became their foremost musical star, starring in a succession of musical comedies, such as MOON OVER MIAMI (1941) and CONEY ISLAND (1943). Grable was the number one box office draw in America in 1943, and she was proclaimed the "Queen of the Movie Musical" by the press. Her "it girl" status was solidified when she posed for a pin-up picture shot by photographer Frank Powolny. It quickly became the best-selling pin-up picture of WWII, fueling Grable's popularity with war-weary soldiers and the general American public. Her status as a pin-up queen was used to its greatest advantage in the movie PIN UP GIRL, which was a big hit for Fox in 1944. Generally speaking, Grable's films were typically light on plot and drama, but high in energy in their musical numbers. Zanuck took the profits he got from Grable's musicals and pushed that money towards more prestigious projects. Grable's popularity urged Fox to promote actress June Haver in a similar manner, featuring her in several modestly-budgeted war-time musicals.
Her career was still going strong into the late 1940s with such successes as MOTHER WORE TIGHTS (1947) and WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME (1948), both co-starring Dan Dailey. Not even a dud such as THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND (1949) could reverse her fortunes. She retained her status as the most successful actress in movie musicals. As Marilyn Monroe grew in popularity in the early 1950s, Fox slowly lost interest in Grable, and the film HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE is generally regarded as the moment where Grable "passed the baton" to Monroe as the biggest star for Fox in the 1950s. Grable's final movie, HOW TO BE VERY, VERY POPULAR (1955), suffered rewrites and cast changes, and was a flop at the box office. She effectively edged herself away from the silver screen thereafter, although she kept herself busy in nightclubs and the theater.
Any fans of this charming individual?
Betty Grable started her movie career in 1929, at the very end of the silent era. She worked in a variety of B-movies throughout the 1930s, holding contracts with various different producers and studios. She was always singled out for her curvaceous body and girl-next-door cuteness, and she derived one of her first public nicknames from the film MILLION DOLLAR LEGS (1939), a low-budget comedy that publicized her soon-to-be famous legs. It was producer Buddy DeSylva that decided to champion her and bring her over to Broadway to star in DUBARRY WAS A LADY that same year. Her success in that show brought her to the attention of 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. At the time, Zanuck was looking for a capable musical actress to replace the suddenly ill Alice Faye, Fox's big musical star, in the film DOWN ARGENTINE WAY. Grable impressed Zanuck enough, and the rest, as they say, is film history.
Grable became the biggest moneymaker for Fox throughout the 1940s. She became their foremost musical star, starring in a succession of musical comedies, such as MOON OVER MIAMI (1941) and CONEY ISLAND (1943). Grable was the number one box office draw in America in 1943, and she was proclaimed the "Queen of the Movie Musical" by the press. Her "it girl" status was solidified when she posed for a pin-up picture shot by photographer Frank Powolny. It quickly became the best-selling pin-up picture of WWII, fueling Grable's popularity with war-weary soldiers and the general American public. Her status as a pin-up queen was used to its greatest advantage in the movie PIN UP GIRL, which was a big hit for Fox in 1944. Generally speaking, Grable's films were typically light on plot and drama, but high in energy in their musical numbers. Zanuck took the profits he got from Grable's musicals and pushed that money towards more prestigious projects. Grable's popularity urged Fox to promote actress June Haver in a similar manner, featuring her in several modestly-budgeted war-time musicals.
Her career was still going strong into the late 1940s with such successes as MOTHER WORE TIGHTS (1947) and WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME (1948), both co-starring Dan Dailey. Not even a dud such as THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND (1949) could reverse her fortunes. She retained her status as the most successful actress in movie musicals. As Marilyn Monroe grew in popularity in the early 1950s, Fox slowly lost interest in Grable, and the film HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE is generally regarded as the moment where Grable "passed the baton" to Monroe as the biggest star for Fox in the 1950s. Grable's final movie, HOW TO BE VERY, VERY POPULAR (1955), suffered rewrites and cast changes, and was a flop at the box office. She effectively edged herself away from the silver screen thereafter, although she kept herself busy in nightclubs and the theater.
Any fans of this charming individual?
