Betty Lynn

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Betty Lynn
B&W image of smiling actor sitting cross-legged on cushion
Publicity image of Lynn on The Andy Griffith Show , c. 1960
Born Elizabeth Ann Theresa Lynn
(1926-08-29)August 29, 1926
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Mount Airy, North Carolina, U.S.
Other names Betty Ann Lynn
Occupation Actress
Years active 1948–2006
Known for Portraying Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show

Elizabeth Ann Theresa Lynn[1] (August 29, 1926 – October 16, 2021) was an American actress. She was best known for her role as Thelma Lou, Deputy Barney Fife's girlfriend, on The Andy Griffith Show. During the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in many films, including Sitting Pretty (1948),[2] June Bride (1948)[2], the original Cheaper by the Dozen (1950),[2] and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956).[2]

Early life

Lynn was born in Kansas City, Missouri,[3] on August 29, 1926.[4][2], Her mother, Elizabeth Ann Lynn,[5] was "an accomplished mezzo-soprano" who taught Betty to sing and enrolled her in the Kansas City Conservatory of Music when she was only five years old.[6]

Lynn had little personal contact with her father, who once reportedly threatened to shoot her mother in the abdomen when she was pregnant. After Lynn's birth, her mother once took shelter in a locked closet with the baby as her husband threatened the two. They divorced when Lynn was 5 years old. Lynn's grandfather, George Andrew Lynn, a railroad engineer, took on the role of father as she grew up.[6]

USO tour

When she was 17, Lynn auditioned to participate in United Service Organizations entertainment. At age 18 she was part of a USO tour in the China Burma India Theater. She realized the gravity of the situation when a Marine gave her a pistol saying, "You might need this."[6]

Her activities on the tour included visiting patients in hospitals and singing requests from a repertoire of 725 songs. She also met recently released prisoners of war from Rangoon, and she was told by a doctor, "Most of them will be out of their minds in six months."[6]

Acting career

Betty Lynn began her acting career in radio as a member of the cast on a daytime drama on a station in Kansas City.[7]

On Broadway,[2] she appeared in Walk with Music (1940), Oklahoma! (1943),[8] and Park Avenue (1946).[9] She was discovered in a Broadway production by Darryl F. Zanuck and signed to 20th Century Fox.[10] A clause in her contract allowed the studio to drop her at six-month intervals, leading to recurring concerns for Lynn. She said, "I was a redhead with freckles and didn’t have a bosom. I prayed so hard they’d keep picking me up."[6]

Lynn made her film debut in the 1948 film Sitting Pretty, which won a Photoplay Gold Medal.[9] That same year, she appeared in June Bride with Bette Davis followed by roles in Mother Is a Freshman (1949), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), and Payment on Demand (1951).[11]

Lynn replaced Patricia Kirkland in the role of Betty Blake in the CBS comedy, The Egg and I (1951-1952),[12] and she played Pearl in the ABC comedy Love That Jill (1958).[12]:{{{3}}} During this time she became neighbor to an infant Mark Evanier, who she has said became a close friend.[9]

She was Viola Slaughter in the ABC Western Texas John Slaughter (1958–62).[12]:{{{3}}} In the 1953–54 television season, Lynn was cast as June Wallace, the sister-in-law of the Ray Bolger character in the ABC sitcom Where's Raymond?.[12]:{{{3}}}

After guest-starring on various television series, including Schlitz Playhouse of Stars,[2] The Gale Storm Show,[2] Sugarfoot,[2] and Markham,[2] Lynn won the role of Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show.[2]Despite playing the role for five years (1961–66), she appeared in only 26 episodes, and was never signed on to the show (in part because at the time she was cast, she was still under contract for Texas John Slaughter).[9] She recounted, "I didn't want to leave Thelma Lou. I really loved her. I enjoyed her. She was sweet and kind, she was so fun to play, and I loved working with Don Knotts - he was so wonderful."[9] Following the end of The Andy Griffith Show, Lynn continued appearing in various television and film roles.[11]

In 2006, Lynn retired from acting and relocated to Mount Airy, North Carolina, the home town of Andy Griffith and the town on which Mayberry is believed to have been based despite Griffith's claims to the contrary.[2]

Personal life

File:Actors Betty Lynn and Ian Oliver Martin in Mount Airy, North Carolina on April 18, 2011.jpg
Lynn with Ian Oliver Martin on April 18, 2011.
File:Betty Lynn.jpg
Giovanna and Randy Rayburn with Lynn (center) at Mount Airy, N.C. in 2015.

In 1950 in Los Angeles, Lynn bought a house, where her mother and grandparents moved in and lived with her for years. She thus assumed the off-screen roles of breadwinner and caretaker.[6]

Lynn never married, although she stated she was once engaged.[13] By July 2019, she was residing in Mount Airy and she continued to make monthly personal appearances in town at the Andy Griffith Museum, signing autographs and meeting with her fans.[14]

The family requests donations to the Betty Lynn Scholarship Endowment in her honor. The scholarship endowment helps students pursuing careers in acting or dance.[2][10] Lynn herself has commented, "The longer I live here, the more I see things [Griffith] took from his hometown."[9]

An autobiography is in the works.[4]

Lynn died on October 16, 2021, after a brief illness, at the age of 95.[4][15] A private burial service is planned in Culver City, California. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.[16]

Honors

Lynn was inducted into the Missouri Walk of Fame, located in Marshfield, Missouri, in 2007.[17] Nine years later on August 30, 2016, she was presented with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor in North Carolina, by the state's lieutenant governor Dan Forest, having been granted it by governor Pat McCrory.[18]

Partial filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1948 Apartment for Peggy[19][20] Wife Credited as Betty Ann Lynn
Sitting Pretty[19][11] Ginger Credited as Betty Ann Lynn
June Bride[19][11] Barbara Brinker
1949 Mother Is a Freshman[19][11] Susan Abbott
Father Was a Fullback[19][20] Constance "Connie" Cooper
1950 Cheaper by the Dozen[19][11] Deborah Lancaster
1951 Payment on Demand[19][11] Martha Ramsey
Take Care of My Little Girl[19][20] Marge Colby
1956 Meet Me in Las Vegas[19][20] Young Bride Alternative title: Viva Las Vegas!
1957 Gun for a Coward[19][11] Claire
1959 Louisiana Hussy[19][11] Lili Guillot
The Hangman[19][20] Hotel Cafe Waitress
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1958 M Squad[21] Susan Baines Episode: "The Trap"
1958 Lawman[22] Edna Phillips Episode: "The Oath"
1958 Wagon Train[11][23] Molly Richardson Episode: "The Dick Richardson Story"
1958 Bronco[11] Molly Bailey Episode: "Baron of Broken Lace"
1959 Tales of Wells Fargo[24] Mary Francis Episode: "The Bounty Hunter"
1959 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer[11] Mona Episode: "Pen Pals"
1959 Sugarfoot[11] Sarah Sears Episode "The Royal Raiders"
1959 Sugarfoot[11] Alice Fenton Episode "The Twister"
1960-1961 Texas John Slaughter[25] Viola 8 Episodes Mid Season 2 and all of 3
1960–1966 The Andy Griffith Show[11][23] Thelma Lou 26 episodes
1960 National Velvet[26] Barbara Howard Episode: "Mi's Girl"
1963 The Farmer's Daughter[11] Sylvia Episode: "The Speechmaker: Part 2"
1965 The Smothers Brothers Show[11] Vera Episode: "Here Comes the Bridegroom"
1967–1970 My Three Sons[11] Janet/Janice; Lois 7 episodes
1966–1968 Family Affair[11][23] Miss Lee 4 episodes
1969 The Mod Squad[11] Mrs. Hill Episode: "The Healer"
1974 Little House on the Prairie[11][23] Bridget Episode: "If I Should Wake Before I Die"
1978 Barnaby Jones[11] Mrs. Russell Episode: "Blind Jeopardy"
1986 Matlock[11][23] Sarah 4 episodes

References

Specific

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. open access publication - free to read
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lentz 1997, p. 253.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lentz 1997, p. 396.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bibliography

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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