Betty Jaynes
Born
Betty Jayne Schultz

(1921-02-12)February 12, 1921
Greeneville, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedNovember 22, 2018(2018-11-22) (aged 97)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Alma materStarrett School for Girls
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1938; div. 1941)​
    Bill Roberts
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1943)​

    Betty Jaynes (born Betty Jayne Schultz,[1] February 12, 1921 – November 22, 2018) was an American operatic singer and B-movie actress from the late 1930s to mid-1940s.

    Early years

    The daughter of Louis C. Schultz and Stella Schultz,[2] Jaynes was born in Greeneville, Tennessee, but she attended the Starrett School for Girls[3] in Chicago. She has a brother, Robert, and two sisters, Lorraine and Marion.[4]

    Career

    Jaynes made her concert debut when she was 15, performing with pianist Janet Gunn at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.[5] At the same age, she made a "sensational debut" with the Chicago City Opera Company in La boheme. In a Life magazine article, she said she would "quit school and consider movies."[6] Her radio debut also occurred when she was 15, as she sang on The Ford Sunday Evening Hour on CBS in January 1937.[7]

    On December 9, 1936, Probate Judge John F. O'Connell in Chicago approved Jaynes' contracts with MGM and a concert booking company. Her status as a minor required court approval, with her mother as her guardian. The MGM contract guaranteed $250 to $1,300 per week plus additional payments when she made films. The booking contract guaranteed $1,000 per concert.[8]

    She began working in Hollywood on April 1, 1937.[9] She appeared as Molly Moran in Babes in Arms in 1939, then in a series of minor parts in seven MGM movies through 1944, including Meet the People, starring Lucille Ball. Her last major acting role was in 1952, in an I Love Lucy episode, "The Operetta".

    Personal life

    Jaynes married actor and budding baritone Douglas McPhail in June 1938. They had a daughter and were divorced in 1941; McPhail committed suicide in 1944.[10] She married a second time in 1943 to Bill Roberts, who had been a singer for Tommy Dorsey.[11] She died in Santa Monica, California, in November 2018 at the age of 97.[12]

    References

    1. ↑ Hadden, Briton (10 February 2018). "Time". Time Incorporated – via Google Books.
    2. ↑ "High School Sophomore Under Opera Contract". The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News. Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. Associated Press. September 25, 1936. p. 20. Retrieved February 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    3. ↑ "15-Year-Old Girl Becomes Member Of Chicago Opera". The Journal Times. Wisconsin, Racine. International News Service. September 25, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved February 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    4. ↑ Shaffer, Rosalind (May 16, 1937). "Betty Jaynes Studying for Movie Debut". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. Part 7-Page 6. Retrieved February 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    5. ↑ Smith, Cecil M. (January 24, 1937). "Betty Jaynes' Concert Debut on Wednesday". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. Part 7-Page 3. Retrieved February 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    6. ↑ "Their Music Makes News", Life (Time Inc.), December 21, 1936
    7. ↑ "Radio Presents Stars in New Programs". The Indianapolis Star. Indiana, Indianapolis. January 10, 1937. p. 24. Retrieved February 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    8. ↑ "Opera's Child Star Will Get $50,000 a Year". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. December 10, 1936. p. 17. Retrieved February 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    9. ↑ Sheilagh Graham, Hollywood Today, February 6, 1937
    10. ↑ David K. Frasier (2005). Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases. McFarland. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-4766-0807-5.
    11. ↑ "Betty Jaynes, Actress, Weds a Serviceman", Associated Press in The Milwaukee Journal, March 26, 1943.
    12. ↑ Ancestry: Betty Jane Schultz profile (subscription required)


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