- Born
- Died
- Birth nameBette Jane Greer
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- As a baby, she was winning beauty contests; as a teenager, with good looks and an attractive contralto voice, she was singing with big bands (most notably Enric Madriguera's orchestra in Latin Club Del Rio in Washington, D.C.. She met Rudy Vallee, her first husband, on the radio where she also enjoyed a brief stint as a singer. At age 15, an attack of palsy left her face partially paralyzed. She claimed that it was through facial exercises to overcome the paralysis that she learned the efficacy of facial expression in conveying human emotion, a skill she was renowned for using in her acting.- IMDb Mini Biography By: jack johnson
- SpousesEdward Lasker(August 20, 1947 - November 16, 1963) (divorced, 3 children)Rudy Vallee(December 2, 1943 - July 27, 1944) (divorced)
- ChildrenSteven Lasker
- ParentsDean McLean Greer Jr.Bettie Greer
- RelativesDonn Greer(Sibling)
- Howard Hughes became attracted to Greer and brought her to Hollywood after he saw her in Life magazine, modeling army uniforms for women. Deciding that Bettejane was too "ingenuish", she shortened her name to Jane for her billing in the film, Dick Tracy (1945).
- Was on the cover of "Life" magazine on June 8, 1942, and June 2, 1947. It was this 1942 issue of "Life" that caught the eye of Howard Hughes and started her Hollywood career.
- Quickly married crooner Rudy Vallee after fleeing a possessed Howard Hughes, who kept her virtually a prisoner during her first few months. An enraged Hughes pressured her and ruined the marriage. She returned to Hughes and her contract.
- Lived (1947-64) in a mansion at 136 South Carmelina Ave. in Brentwood, CA. William Powell and Marilyn Monroe also lived on the street.
- Companion until his death of Frank London (1964 - 31 January 2001).
- I'd always wanted to be an actress, and suddenly I knew that learning to control my facial muscles was one of the best assets I could have as a performer. Emotions often must be portrayed from an inner feeling, of course, but I had a double advantage because I was learning to direct my as-yet expressionless feelings, as well as gaining an ability to express emotion by a very conscious manipulation of my muscles.
- Howard Hughes was obsessed with me. But at first it seemed as if he were offering me a superb career opportunity.
- I love making movies, but I was ready to rationalize being only a mother if my career never got back on track.
- [asked about her memories of making Station West (1948)] Dick Powell was very nice, but the director, who shall remain nameless [Sidney Lanfield], was a real son-of-a-bitch. He was terrible to me--in fact, terrible to any woman. Can you imagine, this guy says to Agnes Moorehead, "Do you think when you say a line, hatchet-face?". She came back with, "I've taken enough. The boat just sailed and you're on it". She refused to work with him, so another director had to do her remaining scenes. As for me, I was a basket case--in tears! He'd say something ugly to me just before I started a scene. I was glaring and had tears, and he'd ask what was the matter with me! Finally, when we were back from location in Arizona, he was told, "It's either you or her, and we have her under contract". After that, I wasn't touched by him . . . I got to know [Raymond Burr] quite well at RKO. Because of everything that happened, he had to coach me for "Station West". I certainly received no help from that director.
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