The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

This swinging singer from WWII was born on April 14, 1921 in Rockford, Illionois to non-professionals. A gorgeous, fresh-faced, blue-eyed blonde doll blessed with a natural vocal talent, Betty Jane Rhodes was initially discovered on radio and was recording by age 8. Her promising contralto helped her to earn a contract at age 15 with Paramount and immediately made her debut in _Forgotten Faces (1936/I)_ initially billing herself as Jane Rhodes. She played Marsha Hunt's kid sister in her second film The Arizona Raiders (1936) in which she sang "My Melancholy Baby". Still a teenager, she played the femme lead in the Universal serial Jungle Jim (1937) opposite Grant Withers's rugged hero. She went on to warble again in such lively film fare as The Life of the Party (1937), Having Wonderful Time (1938), Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love! (1940) and even in the Tim Holt western Along the Rio Grande (1941).

Having been borrowed frequently by other studios, Paramount paid more attention to her by setting her up with the minor wartime musical Sweater Girl (1942), in which introduced the classic "I Don't Want to Walk Without You", and also giving her leads in Salute for Three (1943) opposite Macdonald Carey and You Can't Ration Love (1944). Her film career faded fast after this and she later recorded for RCA and Decca Records, making hits out of such songs as "Rumors Are Flying" and "Buttons and Bows". Married to the late Willet H. Brown, the broadcasting pioneer and co-founder of the Mutual Broadcasting System, the company that ran her program "Adventures in Rhythm," she was initially dubbed the "First Lady of Television". In the 60s she continued performing in clubs and cabarets.

Retired for some time, her husband died in 1993 and left her quite wealthy. She and Willet had one child together, Kimberly. Of Betty's stepchildren, Michael, Peter and Patricia, son Michael J. Brown followed in his father's footsteps with Brown Broadcasting. She died at age 90 on December 26, 2011, in Los Angeles.

Betty Jane Rhodes in Priorities on Parade (1942)

[on director <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0003373/?ref_=nmqu_qu">James P. Hogan</a>, for whom she worked on <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0027308/?ref_=nmqu_qu">The Arizona Raiders (1936)</a>] He was very, very nice, and so considerate. I was 14 at the time. I listened to him.

[on <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0392529/?ref_=nmqu_qu">Tim Holt</a>, with whom she worked in <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0033332/?ref_=nmqu_qu">Along the Rio Grande (1941)</a>] Tim Holt was an egotistical bastard. He was really pretty bad.

Quotes

Betty Jane Rhodes

Contribute to this page

More from this person

More to explore

Recently viewed