Personal Info
Birth date
1916-01-03 (109 Years)
Day of death
1994-04-02
Gender
Female
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
New York City, New York, USA
Also known as
Elizabeth Mary Furness
Betty Furness
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
The Philco Television Playhouse
6.286
Overview:
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.What's My Line?
6.9
Overview:
Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.Studio One
5
Overview:
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.The Colgate Comedy Hour
6.8
Overview:
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers.Your Show of Shows
6.333
Overview:
Your Show of Shows was a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC, from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, The Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the series. The series was telecast from the now-demolished International Theatre at 5 Columbus Circle and the Century Theater, now demolished, in New York. During 2002, Your Show of Shows was ranked #30 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.Climax!
3.273
Overview:
Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.Swing Time
6.837
Overview:
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.Beggars in Ermine
6.3
Overview:
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.Twelve Angry Men
7.915
Overview:
Twelve Angry Men is a 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose for the Studio One anthology television series. Initially staged as a CBS live production on 20 September 1954, the drama was later rewritten for the stage in 1955 under the same title and again for a feature film, 12 Angry Men (1957). The episode garnered three Emmy Awards for writer Rose, director Franklin Schaffner and Robert Cummings as Best Actor.The Defender (Studio One)
7.2
Overview:
The pilot for the television series, "The Defenders." The story of Walter and Kenneth Pearson, a father-and-son legal team. Broadcast as two segments of "Studio One," the story relates how the Pearsons defend a young man accused of killing a woman during a robbery attempt.Magnificent Obsession
7.4
Overview:
A playboy tries to redeem himself after his careless behavior causes a great man's death.The Keeper of the Bees
6
Overview:
A severely traumatized World War I veteran, believing that he's living on borrowed time, comes upon a peaceful little village and meets an old man called Bee Master and his protégé, Little Scout, who try to convince him that he has more to live for than he thinks he does.The Band Plays On
8.5
Overview:
A judge hands four wayward boys to a college football coach who turns them into backfield stars.The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus
4
Overview:
The birth of Jesus and the serene Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.Fair Warning
6
Overview:
In California's Death Valley a chemistry whiz-kid helps a sheriff track the man who murdered a wealthy mine owner who had been staying at a fancy winter resort.Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1
Overview:
Winners of the Lucky Stars National Dance Contest - one woman from each state of the United States - are welcomed to Palm Springs. Palm Springs being the desert playground for the movie stars, the women are introduced to the cavalcade of stars vacationing in Palm Springs at the time.Calm Yourself
4.5
Overview:
A recently-fired advertising executive starts his own company, Confidential Services, to help clients solve their unusual and problematic situations.Mama Steps Out
6
Overview:
A Fort Wayne, Indiana housewife (Alice Brady) drags her husband (Guy Kibbee) and daughter (Betty Furness) to Europe for culture.The Kill
8
Overview:
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.Ace of Aces
5.6
Overview:
A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the army. He becomes a fighter pilot, and undergoes a complete personality change.Here Comes Cookie
7.3
Overview:
A scatterbrained heiress opens her home to a succession of unemployed actors and vaudeville performers, then decides to produce her own show, much to the consternation of her father, her sister and her sister's boyfriend, who is actually after the young girl's money.Dangerous Corner
5.7
Overview:
Friends uncover a dark secret when they compare notes about a theft and suicide.Shadow of Doubt
6.2
Overview:
When a Hollywood producer is murdered, the most likely suspect is a man who is smitten with the victim's fiancee.The Life of Vergie Winters
5.9
Overview:
A small town politician, kept from marrying the love of his life, eventually marries another woman and his career ascends, but he secretly continues the relationship with his true love.Emergency Call
5.8
Overview:
A surgeon and an ambulance driver fight racketeers who take over their hospital.North of Shanghai
NYR
Overview:
In this newspaper drama, a female reporter and a newsreel cameraman are both assigned to cover the Sino-Japanese war. They meet on the boat ride over and decide to team up. They are further assisted by a Chinese cameraman. The three of them manage to expose of spy ring operating out of the Shanghai office of the woman's newspaper.Acting
1957The Defender (Studio One) as Self / Commercial Spokeswoman
1954Climax! (1, 1 Episode) as Beth Jaynes, Ann Kilgore
1954Twelve Angry Men as Herself / Commercial Spokeswoman
1952The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus as Self
1952The Kill as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
1952Ellis in Freedomland as Spokeswoman for Westinghouse
1952Pontius Pilate as Unknown
1950The Colgate Comedy Hour (1 Episode) as Maggie Watson
1950Your Show of Shows (1 Episode) as Herself
1950What's My Line? (7 Episodes) as Self
1950The Rockingham Tea Set as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
1948Studio One (1, 5 Episode) as Coral, Princess Livitski, Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
1948The Philco Television Playhouse (1 Episode) as Unknown
1939North of Shanghai as Helen Warner
1937It Can't Last Forever as Carol Wilson
1937The Good Old Soak as Lucy Hawley
1937Fair Warning as Kate Farnham
1937Mama Steps Out as Leila Cuppy
1937They Wanted to Marry as Sheila Hunter
1936Mister Cinderella as Patricia 'Pat' Randolph
1936All American Chump as Kitty Crane
1936The President's Mystery as Charlotte Brown
1936Swing Time as Margaret Watson
1936Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs as Unknown
1936The Three Wise Guys as Clarabelle Brooks
1935Magnificent Obsession as Joyce Hudson
1935Here Comes Cookie as Phyllis Allen
1935The Keeper of the Bees as Molly
1935Calm Yourself as Mary Elizabeth Allenby
1935McFadden´s Flats as Molly McFadden
1935Shadow of Doubt as Lisa
1934The Band Plays On as Kitty O'Brien
1934A Wicked Woman as Yancey Stroud, aka Yancey Trice
1934Dangerous Corner as Mrs. Betty Whitehouse
1934Gridiron Flash as Jane Thurston
1934The Life of Vergie Winters as Joan Shadwell
1934Beggars in Ermine as Joyce Dawson
1933Let's Fall in Love as Linda
1933Flying Down to Rio as Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
1933Ace of Aces as Card Playing Party Guest (uncredited)
1933Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men as Evangeline
1933Midshipman Jack as Ruth Rogers
1933Headline Shooter as Miss Saunders
1933Emergency Call as Alice Averill
1933Cross Fire as Pat "Mike" Plummer
1933Scarlet River as Babe Jewel
1933The Great Jasper as Sylvia Bradfield
1933Lucky Devils as Ginger
1932Renegades of the West as Mary Fawcett