BETTY GARRETT - The Humphrey Bogart Rhumba

You all know Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 – February 12, 2011)….as either Irene Lorenzo in All in the Family or Edna Babish in Laverne & Shirley. Those who love movie musicals (and there's nothing wrong with that), love Betty in "Words and Music," "Neptune's Daughter,"and "On The Town." She was on Broadway in the 40's, and loved the theatre so much that she kept coming back (she was in the 2001 revival of "Follies") and co-founded Theatre West back home in California.

Betty fans could tell you that she was married to Larry Parks, the guy who looked nothing like Jolson, had a speaking voice an octave higher than Jolson, but captured his extravagant personality well enough to propel "The Jolson Story" to glory. He and Betty toured together, and even recorded some tunes including the novelty "Go To Sleep, Go To Sleep, Go To Sleep." He and Betty got swatted down as Commies during the "Red Scare" blacklist, and would've had some pretty lean years except for good business investments. I don't think any obit or blog would tell you another bit of trivia; their son Andy Parks actually recorded a comedy album for Capitol in the 60's. Here's a bit of oddness: Betty and James Komack put out a record in 1959 called "Clara," (on the obscure Commentary Records label) which was then spun into a Broadway show called "Beg, Borrow or Steal," with Larry Parks replacing Komack.

Betty was one of the most highly trained actresses of her generation, earning a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse, and studying music and dance as well as classical acting. She amassed a huge number of credits in every phase of show biz…doing song and dance schtick in the Catskills, singing sophisticated numbers in solo turns at the Village Vanguard, and even working as part of the Martha Graham dance company. Her good looks and vivacious personality got her booked more and more in musical comedy in the 40's (she was in Olsen & Johnson's "LAFFING ROOM ONLY" in 1944) and between shows, she worked nightclubs.

She always loved singing, and with a big audience for her old movies, and a newer one for her sitcom work, she sometimes put on one-woman shows including "Betty Garrett and Other Songs," which was also the title of her autobiography, which was a fast read, like one long wonderful and nostalgic letter from your favorite relative. Although chances are your favorite relative would relate being uninhibited enough to go topless in her dressing room, her join her nude husband in romps on the beach with equally nude Lloyd Bridges and wife.

Not merely represented on original cast albums, Betty recorded a lot of singles. There's a CD out there that's compiled 28 of them: "Betty Garrett Star of Stage & Screen." It features:

1. Ev'rything I've Got
2. Manhattan
3. Ok'i Baby Dok'i
4. There Ought to Be a Society
5. Don't Blame Me
6. I'm Gonna See a Lot of You
7. Buttons and Bows
8. Matador, The
9. Pussy Cat Song, The (Nyow! Nyot! Nyow!)
10. Any State in the Forty-Eight Is Great
11. There's a Small Hotel
12. Yes, Indeedy
13. Take Me out to the Ball Game
14. Humphrey Bogart Rhumba, The
15. Can I Come in for a Second?
16. Reckon I'm in Love
17. Side by Side
18. Hand Holdin' Music
19. Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep
20. Written Guarantee
21. Lazy Lack-A-Daisy Day, A
22. I'm Strictly on the Corny Side
23. It's a Quiet Town (In Crossbone County)
24. Home Cookin'
25. Poison Ivy
26. Don't Throw Cold Water on the Flame of Love
27. Soft Shoe, The
28. Go

Though quite goofy, "The Humphrey Bogart Rhumba" has some lilt thanks to Betty, and she name-checks a lot of celebs in it, from Lauren Bacall to...herself! I thought it was a fake Bogie voice at the end, but in her book she said it was actually Bogart, and he was nervous in front of the mike. No wonder he didn't sound quite like himself. I found the song on 78 rpm years ago, and Betty proudly noted (literally, on a Post-it) her contribution to the world of silly ditties.

While "Go To Sleep" is pretty strange (her duet with Larry Parks very different from the Mary Martin-Arthur Godfrey version) we'll stay with the rhumba as a little tribute to a great lady, who did get her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was still in good shape for a 90th birthday party at Hollywood's Music Box Theater. "People say, how come you've lasted this long?" she said. "I say I think it's because all of my life I have gotten to do what I love to do."

A link for hearing and downloading BETTY GARRETT on the 78rpm HUMPHREY BOGART RHUMBA