Betty Jaynes
Encyclopedia
Betty Jaynes was a B-movie actress in the late 1930s to mid-1940s.
She was born in Greeneville, Tennessee
but attended high school in Chicago. At the age of 15 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." She signed a contract with MGM and began working in Hollywood on April 1, 1937. She appeared as Molly Moran in Babes in Arms
in 1939, then in a series of minor parts in seven MGM movies through 1944.
Jaynes married actor and budding baritone Douglas McPhail during this time, but they divorced soon after. He committed suicide on December 6, 1944, after his career failed.
She was born in Greeneville, Tennessee
Greeneville, Tennessee
Greeneville is a town in Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 15,198 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Greene County. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. It is the only town with this spelling in the United States, although there...
but attended high school in Chicago. At the age of 15 she made a "sensational debut" with the Chicago City Opera Company
Chicago City Opera Company
The Chicago City Opera Company was a grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago Grand Opera Company, that produced four seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1935 to 1939 before it too succumbed to financial difficulties...
in La boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. In a Life magazine article, she said she would "quit school and consider movies." She signed a contract with MGM and began working in Hollywood on April 1, 1937. She appeared as Molly Moran in Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms (film)
Babes in Arms is the 1939 film version of the 1937 Broadway musical of the same name. The film version stars Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, Grace Hayes and Betty Jaynes.-Production:...
in 1939, then in a series of minor parts in seven MGM movies through 1944.
Jaynes married actor and budding baritone Douglas McPhail during this time, but they divorced soon after. He committed suicide on December 6, 1944, after his career failed.