Betty Boyd
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth "Betty" Boyd (May 11, 1908 – September 16, 1971) was an American film actress in the early days of Hollywood, mostly in the silent film era of the late 1920s and into the early 1930s in B-movies.
, Boyd moved to Hollywood in the mid-1920s to pursue an acting career. Her first film role, which was uncredited, was in the 1927 film The Show
, which starred John Gilbert
and Lionel Barrymore
, great uncle to actress Drew Barrymore
. Boyd's first credited role was that same year in Off Again, with her starring opposite Jack Lloyd. In 1929 Boyd starred in three films, and had an uncredited role in a fourth, as well as being named as one of thirteen WAMPAS Baby Stars
in the company of actresses Josephine Dunn
, Sally Blane
, and future Hollywood legend Jean Arthur
.
1930 was by far Boyd's biggest year of her career. That year she starred in eight films, all credited, and had made a successful transition to "talking films". In 1931 she starred in only two films, Ex-Sweeties and Maid To Order
, and in 1932 she again had only two films, a supporting role in An Old Gypsie Custom and an uncredited role in A Modern Hero
. By the next year her career was all but over. She had only two film acting roles afterward, both in the late 1940s. Her last role was in 1949 when she was cast uncredited in Samson and Delilah
.
area. She had married Charles N. Over Jr. in the 1930s, a marriage which ended in divorce. She died on September 16, 1971, in Los Angeles.
Career
Born Elizabeth Boyd Smith in Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Boyd moved to Hollywood in the mid-1920s to pursue an acting career. Her first film role, which was uncredited, was in the 1927 film The Show
The Show (1927 film)
The Show is a 1927 silent American drama film directed by Tod Browning, based upon C.T. Jackson's 1910 novel, The Day of Souls.-Plot:A Hungarian carnival troupe follows a young girl who reforms a tearaway after her old suitor tried to kill him with a poisonous lizard.-Cast:* John Gilbert - Cock...
, which starred John Gilbert
John Gilbert (actor)
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
and Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
, great uncle to actress Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
. Boyd's first credited role was that same year in Off Again, with her starring opposite Jack Lloyd. In 1929 Boyd starred in three films, and had an uncredited role in a fourth, as well as being named as one of thirteen WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
in the company of actresses Josephine Dunn
Josephine Dunn
Josephine Dunn was an early American film actress of the 1920s and 1930s.Born in New York City, Dunn began her career in Hollywood with a small role alongside Thelma Todd in the 1926 film Fascinating Youth. Dunn became associated with what would become known as the "Algonquin Round Table", which...
, Sally Blane
Sally Blane
Sally Blane was an American actress. Blane was the sister of actresses Polly Ann and Loretta Young, and half-sister to actress Georgiana Young, the wife of actor Ricardo Montalban...
, and future Hollywood legend Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
.
1930 was by far Boyd's biggest year of her career. That year she starred in eight films, all credited, and had made a successful transition to "talking films". In 1931 she starred in only two films, Ex-Sweeties and Maid To Order
Maid to Order
Maid to Order is a 1987 comedy/fantasy film starring Ally Sheedy.-Plot:Rich and spoiled twenty something Jessie Montgomery winds up in jail after a life of wild partying...
, and in 1932 she again had only two films, a supporting role in An Old Gypsie Custom and an uncredited role in A Modern Hero
A Modern Hero
A Modern Hero is a 1934 American drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It was Pabst's only American talking film.-Plot:...
. By the next year her career was all but over. She had only two film acting roles afterward, both in the late 1940s. Her last role was in 1949 when she was cast uncredited in Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah (1949 film)
Samson and Delilah is a 1949 film made by Paramount Pictures , produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr as the title characters...
.
Later years and death
Boyd retired, but did not leave the Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area. She had married Charles N. Over Jr. in the 1930s, a marriage which ended in divorce. She died on September 16, 1971, in Los Angeles.