Betsy Gay

Last updated
Betsy Gay
Born
Elizabeth Ann Gunst

(1929-02-02) February 2, 1929 (age 95)
Occupation(s)Yodeler, film actress
Years active1936–1970s
Spouse
Thomas Cashen
(m. 1954;died 2005)
(5 children)

Betsy Gay (born February 2, 1929) is an American former yodeler and actress. [1] She was born in Waterford, Connecticut to Charles and Helen Gay, who were also entertainers. She appeared in films, television, and radio shows. Her film career mostly consisted of bit-part roles during the Golden Age of Hollywood, such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), Our Gang Follies of 1938 and Mystery Plane (1939). [2] Her final role was in 1943. Throughout her singing career, she worked alongside the likes of Dale Evans, Stuart Hamblen, and Tex Williams. She won a yodeling competition in California two years in a row in the mid-1940s. She had several music recordings with labels such as Capitol Records and Decca Records. [3]

Contents

Personal life

Gay was married to Thomas Cashen between 1954 and 2005. [4] The couple had five children in total.

Filmography

YearTitleRole
1936 The Pinch Singer Broadway number performer
Arbor Day Dancing girl
1937 When You're in Love Performing arts student
Nothing Sacred Group singing role
It Happened in Hollywood Sis
Our Gang Follies of 1938 Blonde girl fan of Alfalfa
1938 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Susie Harper [5]
Came the Brawn Effie
1939 Mystery Plane Betty Lou as a young girl
The Zero Hour Orphan
At the Circus Circus midget
1941 Bachelor Daddy Girl at the movie
1942How Spry I AmYoung girl
1943 What's Buzzin', Cousin? Saree

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Arden</span> American actress (1908–1990)

Eve Arden was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Martin</span> American singer and actress (1913–1990)

Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1949), the title character in Peter Pan (1954), and Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1959). She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989. She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cybill Shepherd</span> American actress and former model (born 1950)

Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. She also had roles as Kelly in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Betsy in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), and Nancy in Woody Allen's Alice (1990).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Garland</span> American actress, singer, and vaudevillian (1922–1969)

Judy Garland was an American actress, singer, and vaudevillian. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received a Golden Globe Award, a Special Tony Award and was one of twelve people in history to receive an Academy Juvenile Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Ringwald</span> American actress and writer (born 1968)

Molly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, writer, and translator. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life before being nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the drama film Tempest (1982). Ringwald became a teen idol following her appearances in filmmaker John Hughes' teen films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986). These films led to the media referring to her as a member of the "Brat Pack." Her final teen roles were in For Keeps and Fresh Horses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Lansbury</span> British and American actress (1925–2022)

Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury was a British and American actress. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles across film, stage, and television. Although based for much of her life in the United States, her work attracted international attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Wyman</span> American actress (1917–2007)

Jane Wyman was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress (1948), four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 1960 she received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for both motion pictures and television. She was the first wife of President Ronald Reagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Rogers</span> American singer and actor (1911–1998)

Roy Rogers, nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, freemason and rodeo performer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Holliday</span> American actress, singer (1921–1965)

Judy Holliday was an American actress, comedian and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yodeling</span> Form of singing

Yodeling is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word yodel is derived from the German word jodeln, meaning "to utter the syllable jo". This vocal technique is used in many cultures worldwide. Recent scientific research concerning yodeling and non-Western cultures suggests that music and speech may have evolved from a common prosodic precursor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Evans</span> American actress, singer and writer (1912–2001)

Dale Evans Rogers was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy film star Roy Rogers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsha Hunt (actress, born 1917)</span> American actress (1917–2022)

Marsha Hunt was an American actress with a career spanning nearly 80 years. She was blacklisted by Hollywood film studio executives in the 1950s during McCarthyism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Weidler</span> American actress (1927–1968)

Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraldine Fitzgerald</span> Irish actress (1913–2005)

Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald was an Irish actress. She received the Daytime Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She was a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2020, she was listed at number 30 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Lynn</span> American actress (1926–1971)

Diana Marie Lynn was an American actress. She built her career by starring in Paramount Pictures films and various television series during the 1940s and 1950s. Two stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame are dedicated to her name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grandpa Jones</span> Musical artist (1913–1998)

Louis Marshall Jones, known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and old time/country music singer. He was inducted as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosalie Allen</span> American musician, noted for yodeling

Rosalie Allen was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, columnist and television and radio host who was noted for her yodeling. She was known as the Queen of Yodeling and was the first woman inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Ralston</span> American actress (1902–1994)

Esther Ralston was an American silent film star. Her most prominent sound picture was To the Last Man in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Blair</span> American actress (1923–2009)

Betsy Blair was an American actress of film and stage, long based in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Russell</span> American actress (born 1963)

Betsy Russell is an American actress who is best known for her roles in Private School (1983), Tomboy (1985), and as Jill Tuck, one of the primary characters of the Saw film series from 2006 to 2010.

References

  1. "Los Angeles After Dark". The Southwest Wave. February 21, 1946. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  2. "Betsy Gay, Original 'Little Rascal', Musician". SCV TV. June 3, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  3. "Betsy Gay". Hillbilly Music. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  4. "Untitled". The Tidings. February 21, 1946. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  5. Gevinson, Alan (1997). Within Our Gates Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. p. 53. ISBN   978-0520209640 . Retrieved 2023-01-30.