Betty Ann Grove (September 9, 1929 – November 13, 2015) was an American actress and singer.

Early years

Grove was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. Her mother was "an exhibition ballroom dancer" who performed with

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in ...

and

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...

, among others. Grove took her first dancing lessons at age 4 and at 11 was performing professionally by singing and dancing for service clubs in Cambridge. She attended Longfellow Grammar School and

Cambridge High and Latin School Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. As a high school student, she performed for department stores' fashion shows in Boston.

Stage

In 1950, Grove debuted on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in the 1948 original production of ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-s ...

'', playing Lois Lane/Bianca, a lead role that was originated by

Lisa Kirk Lisa Kirk (born Elsie Kirk, February 25, 1925 – November 11, 1990) was an American actress and singer noted for her comic talents and rich contralto (her voice was called a husky alto). Career Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, she was raise ...

(whom she replaced). She appeared on Broadway in three other shows as well: The 1968 original production of ''

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine P ...

''; the 1979 original production of '' I Remember Mama''; and the 1983 revival of ''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dol ...

''.

Television

Grove's network television debut came on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' in 1949. That same year, after three auditions, she became the featured singer on ABC-TV's '' Stop the Music''. A 1951 review of ''Stop the Music'' emphasized the "showmanly flair of Miss Grove and ertParks." In a 1952 magazine article, Parks described Grove's activities during five months in 1950 when she was in both ''Stop the Music'' on TV and ''Kiss Me Kate'' on Broadway:

At 7:30 every Thursday night she would rush into a dressing room at ABC's Ritz Theatre on West 48th Street, change into her TV costume, tear on stage for her numbers, change again into her first act ''Kiss Me Kate'' togs, make a beeline for the Shubert Theatre on West 44th Street, arriving just in time for her on-stage cue. All this following a full day of rehearsing. But audiences never had a hint of her exhausting routine, and night after night her "True To You In My Fashion" and "Why Can't You Behave" were show stoppers.

In 1952, Grove had her own summer replacement program (filling in for

Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith is well known for her renditions of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" & "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain". ...

's program). She teamed with

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own ta ...

in 1954 to co-star in ''Song Snapshots on a Summer Holiday'', the twice-weekly summer replacement for

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

's program on Tuesdays and

Jane Froman Ellen Jane Froman (November 10, 1907 – April 22, 1980) was an American actress and singer. During her thirty-year career, she performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic health problems due to injuries sustained in a 1943 plane cra ...

's program on Thursdays. Grove was on ''

The Big Payoff ''The Big Payoff'' is a daytime and primetime game show that premiered on NBC in 1951, and ended its network run on CBS in 1959. It had a brief syndication revival in 1962. NBC used ''The Big Payoff'' to replace the 15-minute show ''Miss Susan'' st ...

'' for four years. She said that she resigned from ''Payoff'' because "I was getting so lazy, that I knew if I didn't make the break now, I'd be too weak to do it later." She also appeared on such television programs as ''The

Bert Parks Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. Early life Parks was bor ...

Show'', ''The

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film ''Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work i ...

Show'' and ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s United States network television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ' ...

''.

Personal life

On September 17, 1955, Grove married Ed Brown, an advertising executive. She died on November 13, 2015, at the age of 86.

Partial discography

*''Waltzing Down the Aisle''/''I Had a Heart When I Came In'' (1955 Major 141) *''Stolen Love''/''You I'm Gonna Marry'' (1956 Jubilee 5260) *''Your High School Key''/''The Closer You Are'' (1956 Jubilee 5254)eBay item number:121421386989

References

External links

* *
Betty Ann Grove-The Closer You Are(Rare White Cover) on YouTubePAUL WINCHELL & BETTY ANN GROVE DANCE on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grove, Betty Ann 2015 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses Jubilee Records artists American musical theatre actresses 1929 births Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni 21st-century American women