Betty Jane Rhodes: Movies & Box Office

**Betty Jane Rhodes** was an American actress and singer who became a beloved figure during the World War II era. Born on April 21, 1921, in Rockford, Illinois, she displayed her talents remarkably early, beginning her broadcasting career on children's programs when she was just eight years old. Before appearing on screen, Rhodes worked behind the scenes at RKO Pictures as a ghost singer, where she earned $200 per week providing the singing voice for actresses who merely lip-synced to her vocals. At age 15, she signed her first film contract with Paramount Pictures and made her screen debut in the 1936 film *Forgotten Faces*, where she was credited as Jane Rhodes. In this film, she portrayed the adopted daughter of a character played by Herbert Marshall, who is arrested for killing a man involved in an affair with his wife. This was followed by a co-starring role in the 1936 western *The Arizona Raiders*, where she played the younger sister of Marsha Hunt's character, marking the first time Rhodes sang in a movie.

**Rhodes** achieved her most enduring recognition for her debut performance of the classic song "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" in the 1942 film *Sweater Girl*, a song that became emblematic of wartime longing. Tom Vallance of *The Independent* wrote in 2012 that her place in the history of popular song was secured by this performance. Beyond her film work, Rhodes had a prolific career in radio and early television. She first sang on the air on children's programs in Berkeley, California, and by age 12 was performing on *The Laff Clinic* on KHJ in Los Angeles. Her radio career included nationwide exposure on the Fred Allen Show in 1940, and she later hosted her own weekly NBC show on Saturday nights during the 1950s, earning her the nickname "The First Lady of Television." She also sang in cabaret until the 1960s and was the regular singer on the radio program *Meet Me at Parky's*, starring Harry Einstein as Parkyakarkas. In her personal life, Rhodes married Willet Brown, co-founder of the Mutual Broadcasting System, in 1945, and they had one child together, while also raising Brown's three children from his previous marriage. She passed away on December 27, 2011, at the age of 90 in Los Angeles, California.