Katharine Elizabeth Garde
(September 19, 1905 – December 25, 1989) was an American stage, radio, film and television actress.
Early years
Born in Philadelphia, Garde was starring in productions of South Philadelphia's Broadway Players by age 15. She attended the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
.
[
]
Stage
On the stage since the early 1920s, Garde made her 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 ...
debut as Alma Borden in ''Easy Come, Easy Go'' (1925–1926) and played character roles in productions including ''The Social Register'' (1931–1932) and ''The Primrose Path'' (1939). A tall woman, standing 5'10", she was cast as Aunt Eller in the original 1943 Broadway production of ''Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...
'' She also portrayed Mrs. Gordon in ''Agatha Sue, I Love You'' (1966).
Radio
After joining CBS in 1933,[ Garde began to work extensively in radio, performing on some three dozen shows including '']Lorenzo Jones
''Lorenzo Jones'' was a daytime radio series which aired on NBC in different timeslots over an 18-year span.
Produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, the series could be classified with its own unique category of "comedy soap opera", highlighted by ...
'', ''Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'', '' The Big Story'', ''The Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences ...
Show'' (on which she played "all the women roles"),[ ] '' Front Page Farrell'', '' Maudie's Diary'', ''Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
'', ''Theatre Guild on the Air
''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the U.S. Steel, United States Steel Corpor ...
'' and '' The Fat Man''.Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
on the CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...
series ''The American School of the Air'', and she later performed in Welles' radio series including ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'', ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air
''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' is a radio series of live radio dramas created and hosted by Orson Welles. The weekly hour-long show presented classic literary works performed by Welles's celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with mus ...
'', '' The Campbell Playhouse'' and ''Ceiling Unlimited
''Ceiling Unlimited'' (later known as ''America — Ceiling Unlimited'') (1942–1944) is a CBS radio series created by Orson Welles and sponsored by the Lockheed-Vega Corporation. The program was conceived to glorify the aviation industry and dr ...
''.
Film
Garde's first three credited Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
film roles are in the early "talkies" '' The Lady Lies'' (1929), ''Damaged Love'' (1930), and ''Queen High
''Queen High'' is the title of an American pre-Code musical comedy film, produced by Paramount Pictures in 1930. Based upon the 1926 stage musical ''Queen High'' that Buddy DeSylva, Lewis Gensler, and Laurence Schwab had adapted from Edward P ...
'' (1930). Among her more notable later performances are in the film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
productions ''Call Northside 777
''Call Northside 777'' is a 1948 reality-based newspaper drama directed by Henry Hathaway. The film parallels the true story of a Chicago reporter who proved that a man jailed for murder was wrongly convicted 11 years before. James Stewart stars ...
'' (1948), in which she plays a prosecution witness whose testimony convicts an innocent man; in ''Cry of the City
''Cry of the City'' is a 1948 American film noir starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, and Shelley Winters. Directed by Robert Siodmak, it is based on the novel by Henry Edward Helseth, ''The Chair for Martin Rome''. The screenwriter Ben Hecht ...
'' (1948) as Miss Pruett; and in ''Caged
In music, a barre chord (also spelled bar chord) is a type of chord on a guitar or other stringed instrument played by using one finger to press down multiple strings across a single fret of the fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the strin ...
'' (1950), as a murderous prison inmate.
Television
Her television credits include playing Belle Starr on the January 27, 1952 episode of ''The Gabby Hayes Show
The Gabby Hayes Show was the name given to two early children's television series. Both series were broadcast on NBC, and both were sponsored by the Quaker Oats Company.
Gabby Hayes was the host of a series that featured history stories. He al ...
''. Garde also made appearances on ''The Honeymooners
''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...
'' as the Kramdens' maid, Thelma; on ''The Real McCoys
''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Compan ...
'' as a farmer, Aggie Larkin; and on two episodes of ''The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'', including " The Midnight Sun", opposite Lois Nettleton
Lois June Nettleton (August 16, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress. She received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards.
Early life
Lois Nettleton was born on Aug ...
.
Death
Betty Garde died December 25, 1989,Sherman Oaks, California
Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density th ...
. No cause was given and there were no immediate survivors.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
Betty Garde Digital Gallery at the University of Maryland Library
Betty Garde papers
at the University of Maryland Library
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garde, Betty
Actresses from Philadelphia
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
American radio actresses
American musical theatre actresses
1905 births
1989 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers