Betta St. John

Betta St. John (born Betty Jean Striegler, November 26, 1929 – June 23, 2023) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who worked on Broadway, the West End, and in Hollywood films. She started her career aged 10 as a child actress in uncredited movie parts in her native USA, as an adult actress her first starring role was in the MGM film Dream Wife opposite Cary Grant in 1953, later residing in England she appeared in starring roles in British films including High Tide at Noon, two Tarzan films, and the horror features Corridors of Blood with Boris Karloff and Horror Hotel with Christopher Lee.

Betta St. John
with Deborah Kerr (right) in Dream Wife
Born
Betty Jean Striegler

(1929-11-26)November 26, 1929
Hawthorne, California, U.S.
DiedJune 23, 2023(2023-06-23) (aged 93)
Brighton, England
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • dancer
Years active1938–1965
Known forHigh Tide at Noon
Notable workDream Wife
Spouse
Peter Grant
​
​
(m. 1952; died 1992)​
Children3
From top: Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary singing "Happy Talk", Betta St. John as Liat, and William Tabbert as Lt. Cable in the original Broadway cast of South Pacific (1950)

She was an inductee into the Hawthorne Hall of Fame in 2019.[1][2]

Biography

Betty Jean Striegler[3] was born in Hawthorne, California,[4] on November 26, 1929.[5] St. John, alongside Shirley Temple, was part of the Meglin Kiddies troupe of actors, singers, and dancers.[6]

St. John made her film debut at age ten in an uncredited part in Destry Rides Again (1939) starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. She then played an orphan in Jane Eyre (1943), starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, also uncredited.[4]

St. John played a small role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical Carousel from 1945 until 1947. She was a member of the show's touring company until 1949. Later that year, she created the role of Liat in the musical South Pacific, first on Broadway[7] and then London.

St. John appeared in the 1953 films The Robe, Dream Wife, and All the Brothers Were Valiant, as well as 1954's The Student Prince.[8]

Betta St. John starred in two Tarzan films the first in 1957 Tarzan and the Lost Safari which was the first Tarzan film to be filmed in colour, she returned to the franchise in Tarzan the Magnificent in 1960.[1]

She continued to act in films and appear in TV series until 1965 before leaving the entertainment industry

St. John was married to English actor Peter Grant from 1952[9] until his death in 1992. They had three children.[10][11]

Betta St. John died at an assisted living facility in Brighton, England, on June 23, 2023, at the age of 93.[2][12]

Filmography
Year Title Role Note
1939Destry Rides AgainSinging Girl in WagonUncredited
1940Waldo's Last StandTop DancerShort
1941LydiaBlind OrphanUncredited
1943Jane EyreGirlUncredited
1953The RobeMiriam
Dream WifeTarji
All the Brothers Were ValiantNative Girl
1954Dangerous MissionMary Tiller
The Law vs. Billy the KidNita Maxwell
The Student PrincePrincess Johanna
The Saracen BladeIolanthe Rogliano
1955The Naked DawnMaria Lopez
Alias John PrestonSally Sandford
1957High Tide at NoonJoanna
Tarzan and the Lost SafariDiana Penrod
1958Corridors of BloodSusan
The SnorkelJean Edwards
1960Tarzan the MagnificentFay Ames
The City of the Dead (film)Patricia Russellaka Horror Hotel

References
  1. "Betta St. John passes away:'Tarzan' and 'Horror Hotel' actress was 93". thenews.com.pk. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. "Betta Grant/St. John". The Times. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  3. Maxford, Howard (2018). Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. McFarland. p. 708. ISBN 9781476629148. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. St. John profile at Glamour Girls of the Screen website
  5. Screen World 1967. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. June 1983. ISBN 9780819603081.
  6. "Show Business Won't Let Betta St. John Open Eyes". The Ottawa Citizen. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. August 1, 1953. p. 15. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "("Betta St. John" search results)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  8. Fandango website
  9. "South Pacific Girl Finally Gets Her 'Wonderful Guy'". Milwaukee Journal. November 27, 1952. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  10. https://www.recordgazette.net/arts_and_entertainment/bannings-betta-st-john---the-famous-movie-star-got-started-as-a-teenager/article_39dc1f32-8f79-5c06-be0e-ccf3dbdf8a3b.html
  11. http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/261/Betta+St.+John/index.html
  12. Barnes, Mike (7 July 2023). "Betta St. John, Actress in 'South Pacific' and 'Dream Wife,' Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
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