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Betty Field
Actress Betty Field (1956) from the trailer for the film Bus Stop
Born	February 8, 1913(1913-02-08) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	September 13, 1973 (aged 60) Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1939–1968
Spouse(s)	Elmer Rice (1942-1956) Edwin J. Lukas (1957-1967) Raymond Olivere (1968-1973)

Betty Field (February 8, 1913^[1] – September 13, 1973) was an American film and stage actress. Through her father, she was a direct descendant of the Pilgrims John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.^{[citation needed]}

Born in Boston, Massachusetts to George Field and Katharine Lynch^[2], Field began her acting career on the London stage in Howard Lindsay's farce, She Loves Me Not. Following its run she returned to the United States and appeared in several stage successes, before making her film debut in 1939. Her role as Mae, the sole female character, in Of Mice and Men (1939) established her as a dramatic actress.

She starred opposite John Wayne in the 1941 film The Shepherd of the Hills. Field played supporting roles in films such as Kings Row (1942), in which she played a victim of incest, although that fact was not readily apparent due to the heavy censorship of the time.^{[citation needed]}

Field preferred performing on Broadway and appeared in Elmer Rice's Dream Girl and Jean Anouilh's The Waltz of the Toreadors, but returned to Hollywood regularly, appearing in Flesh and Fantasy (1943), The Southerner (1945), The Great Gatsby (1949), Picnic (1955), Bus Stop (1956), Peyton Place (1957), BUtterfield 8 (1960) and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). Her final film role was in Coogan's Bluff in 1968. She also appeared on television.

Personal life

Her first marriage, to playwright Elmer Rice, ended in divorce. The couple had three children John, Paul and Judith. Her second marriage, to Edwin J. Lukas, lasted from 1957-1967. Her third marriage, to Raymond Olivere, lasted from 1968 until her death in 1973.

Death

Field died from a stroke in Hyannis, Massachusetts, aged 60.

Filmography

References

External links

• Betty Field at the Internet Movie Database
• Betty Field at the Internet Broadway Database
• Betty Field at Find a Grave
• Betty Field North American Theater Online