Betty Grable
Inglewood Park Cemetery
Actress Betty Grable
will forever be known as the World War II pin-up girl with the "million dollar legs."
Grable's mother, Lillian, was determined to have one of her
daughters in show business. When her oldest child, Marjorie, exhibited neither
the talent nor the inclination, Lillian turned her efforts to her next child.
Grable began her training at an early age, taking dance, voice and saxophone
lessons. She appeared as a dancer in several films while she was still a
teenager, making her screen debut in "Let's Go Places" (1930). Grable spoke
her first words on screen in the Eddie Cantor comedy "Whoopee!" (1930), which
was also Busby Berkeley's first film as a choreographer. Grable appeared
in small parts in several more musicals and comedies during the early 1930s,
including a brief appearance as a party guest in "The Gay Divorcee" (1934)
and a singer in a trio in "Follow the Fleet" (1936), both films starring
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. To supplement her acting income during
this time, Grable also worked as a band singer.
Since Grable was just barely out of her teens, she was
young enough to be believable in a series of "campus films," including
"Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" (1933), "Student Tour" (1934), "Collegiate"
(1936), "Pigskin Parade" (1936), "Campus Confessions" (1938) and "College
Swing" (1938). In 1937, while still a struggling actress, Grable married
former child star Jackie Coogan, who was still a popular performer, and
the marriage helped to give Grable's career a needed boost. Grable got
her big break with a starring role in "Million Dollar Legs" (1939) -- even
though the title refers to a horse, Grable ended up with the nickname for
the rest of her career.
Darryl Zanuck brought Grable to Fox studios in the early 1940s,
and she starred in a series of musicals that highlighted her impressive limbs,
and also featured the studio's new Technicolor process -- "Down Argentine
Way" (1940), "Tin Pan Alley" (1940), "Moon Over Miami" (1941), "Song of the
Islands" (1942), "Springtime in the Rockies" (1942), "Coney Island" (1943),
"Sweet Rosie O'Grady" (1943), "Pin-Up Girl" (1944) and "The Dolly Sisters" (1945).
In 1942, Grable was ranked eighth on the list of the top 10
box-office attractions; the following year, she was number one, and she remained
During World War II, Grable was the favorite of U.S. servicemen.
The classic pin-up photograph of her in high heels and a one-piece white
bathing suit, looking back over her shoulder, was posted in countless military
barracks around the world. After the war, Grable starred in "The Shocking
Miss Pilgrim" (1946), a musical comedy set in the 1800s. But the biggest
shock to Grable's fans was the lack of screen time for her legs, and they
flooded the studio with letters of complaint. Grable returned to her previous
form in "Mother Wore Tights" (1947), and her fans were happy again. She kept
to the successful formula with "When My Baby Smiles at Me" (1948), "The Beautiful
Blonde From Bashful Bend" (1949) and "Wabash Avenue" (1950) -- a re-make of
"Coney Island" -- "My Blue Heaven" (1950), "Call Me Mister" (1951) and
"Meet Me After the Show" (1951). By the time Grable appeared in "How to
Marry a Millionaire" (1953), co-starring with Marilyn Monroe and Lauren
Bacall, her star was fading, and Zanuck was focusing the studio's attention
on new performers. Her last film was "How to Be Very, Very Popular" (1955).
When her film career ended, Grable appeared often on television,
in nightclubs and on stages across the country. She starred in performances
of "Guys and Dolls," "Hello, Dolly" and other musicals through the 1960s.
Grable is buried with her mother, Lillian Grable (1889 - 1964),
and near her father, Conn Grable (1883 - 1954), and sister, Marjorie Grable
Arnold (1909 - 1980).
Grable was married to actor Jackie Coogan from 1937 to 1940,
and to bandleader Harry James from 1943 to 1965. The name on her crypt
is "Betty Grable James." Although Harry James, who died in 1983, is buried
in Las Vegas, NV, his father, Everette James (1884 - 1955), is buried in
the crypt next to Grable.
Grable was born Elizabeth Ruth Grable on Dec. 18, 1916,
in St. Louis, MO. She died on July 2, 1973, in Santa Monica, CA.
1916 - 1973
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