Betty Compton
Betty Compton | |
---|---|
Born | Violet Halling Compton May 13, 1904 Sandown, Isle of Wight, England |
Died | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. | July 12, 1944
Occupation(s) | Stage, film actress |
Spouse(s) | Edward D. Dowling (1931-1931, divorced) Jimmy Walker (1933-1941; divorced) Theodore Temple Knappen (1942-1944; her death) |
Children | 3 |
Betty Compton (born Violet Halling Compton; May 13, 1904[citation needed] – July 12, 1944), was an English actress and singer, who married New York City mayor Jimmy Walker in 1933.
Compton was born Violet Halling Compton[1] in Sandown, Isle of Wight. She moved to Canada with her parents when she was seven years old.[2] She studied singing in New York City with Estelle Liebling.[3]
A member of the Ziegfeld Follies, she appeared in the original stage production of Funny Face (1927) alongside Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire, as well as Oh, Kay! in 1926.
Compton married film dialog director Edward D. Dowling on February 16, 1931, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and they were divorced in that city on March 20, 1931. She had received a divorce from a previous marriage in 1923.[4] She married Walker on April 18, 1933, in Cannes, France.[5] On May 11, 1942, Compton married consulting engineer Theodore Knappen in Jersey City. That was her fourth wedding.[6] She and Knappen had a son, Theodore Compton Knappen. She and Walker adopted a son, James J. Walker II, and a daughter, Mary Ann Walker.[7]
On July 12, 1944, Compton died[7] of breast cancer in Doctors Hospital, New York, aged 40.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "Walker banns posted". The New York Times. April 5, 1933. p. 12. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ "Betty Compton diees; former actress, 37". The New York Times. July 13, 1944. p. 17. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ Dean Fowler, Alandra (1994). Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices (PhD). University of Arizona.
- ^ "Betty Compton Gets Mexican Divorce Decree; Actress Wed to Film Director in February". The New York Times. April 2, 1931. p. 34. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ "Walker married to Betty Compton". The New York Times. April 19, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ "Betty Compton Wed Again". The New York Times. May 12, 1942. p. 22. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ a b "Betty Compton left estate to husband". The New York Times. July 27, 1944. p. 19. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
Sources
[edit]- Isle of Wight Family History Society Archived 2013-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
External links
[edit]- Betty Compton at IMDb
- Betty Compton at the Internet Broadway Database
- portrait(archived)
- Betty Compton and Jimmy Walker appear in court during adoption process(archived)
- three portraits of Betty Compton: one, ..two,..three
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