KEY POINTS:
Betty Hutton, actress, singer, died aged 86.
Betty Hutton, once described as "the noisiest girl in Hollywood", made her name in the 1940s in a series of musical comedies, including The Fleet's In and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. But she was probably best remembered for her starring role in Annie Get Your Gun with Howard Keel.
Hutton's screen personality had more to do with energy and humour than sex and, at the height of her popularity, she was one of Hollywood's most popular and highly paid performers.
However, by 1967, she had lost US$10 million and registered as a bankrupt with debts of more than US$150,000.
A chronic depressive, she suffered two nervous breakdowns before she was 32 and spent 20 years addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs. She was divorced four times.
Despite her huge early success, Hutton's film career was largely over by the mid-1950s. She made only one film after Annie Get Your Gun and later attempts to revive a stage career failed.
Hutton was born in Michigan in 1921 and, at the age of 5, began singing in her mother's bar. Her first real show business success was as a singer with Vincent Lopez' band, followed by a Broadway revue, Two for the Show, and the stage version of Panama Hattie before getting her start in Hollywood.
- Agencies
