Beverly Tyler

Beverly Tyler
circa 1940s
Born Beverly Jean Saul
(1927-07-05)July 5, 1927
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Died November 23, 2005(2005-11-23) (aged 78)
Reno, Nevada
Occupation Actress
Years active 1940–1990
Spouse(s) Jim Jordan Jr. (1962–1998); his death)
Children 4

Beverly Tyler (July 5, 1927 – November 23, 2005), was an American film actress and singer who was a minor MGM leading lady who appeared in a handful of mostly B movies in the 1940s and 1950s.

Early years

Tyler was born Beverly Jean Saul in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on July 5, 1927,[1] the daughter of a secretary and factory employee, who secured piano and music lessons for their daughter at a young age. She was reared in adjacent Dunmore, Pennsylvania, attended Central High School, and she and her parents were devout Methodists who were active in the Dunmore Methodist Church where Beverly sang in the choir.[2] When she was 14 years old, Tyler passed screen and voice tests and was informed, "you're a movie actress."[3]

Film and Television

Tyler debuted in films billed as Beverly Jean Saul in The Youngest Profession (1943).[4] She worked in over 30 motion pictures between 1943 and 1957, some of which included The Green Years (1946), My Brother Talks to Horses (1947), The Fireball (1950), Voodoo Island (1957), Toughest Gun in Tombstone (1958), and Hong Kong Confidential (1958). In 1953, Tyler played Lorelei Kilbourne on the television program Big Town.[5] She also was seen in such syndicated programs as The Andy Griffith Show, Bonanza and Hazel. She was considered for the roles of Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard (1950), Eve Harrington in All About Eve (1950), Georgie Elgin in The Country Girl (1954), and Marylee Hadley in Written on the Wind (1956), but never got any part (any, if not all, of which would have been instrumental in elevating her career and showcasing her talents as an actress).

Stage

Tyler appeared on Broadway during her teenage years as the female lead in the 1945 production The Firebird of Florence.[1]

Later years

Tyler's last appearance on the small screen was in 1961, and for the next couple of decades she focused on marriage, motherhood, and was a mainstay on the local theatre and supper club circuit in Reno until her retirement in 1990. She did return to her native Scranton/Dunmore area in 1950 to promote her picture The Fireball and was given the key to the city by then mayor James T. Hanlon and she also went back to spend a few weeks in 1990 after her retirement to visit her old neighborhood with a childhood friend she kept in touch with.[2]

Personal life

During her time in Hollywood, Tyler was well known as a "girl about town" being seen at some of Tinsel Town's most popular nightclubs with such leading men as Mickey Rooney, Rory Calhoun, and Peter Lawford.[1]

Tyler was a Democrat who was supportive of Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election[6].

In May 1962, she married Jim Jordan, Jr., the son of the famed 1930s radio couple Fibber McGee and Molly,[1] and had a son and three daughters. They remained married until his death in December 1998.[1]

Death

Beverly Tyler died under her married name of Beverly Jordan on November 23, 2005, in Reno, Nevada, from pulmonary embolism and was laid to rest at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery in Reno, Nevada.[7][8] She was survived by a son and three stepdaughters.[9]

Selected filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Beverly Tyler, 78; Actress Played Opposite Rooney, Lawford in 1940s and '50s - latimes". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  2. 1 2 Nissley, Erin L. (February 26, 2017). "Local History: Dunmore teen sought fame in Hollywood's golden age". The Times-Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Dunmore Girl of 14 Passes Movie Tests". The Evening News. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. December 3, 1941. p. 10. Retrieved August 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Letnz, Harris M. III (2006). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 372. ISBN 9780786424894. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  5. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  6. ↑ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
  7. ↑ Wilson, Scott (16 September 2016). "Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed". McFarland – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "Beverly Jean Tyler (1927 - 2005) - Find A Grave Memorial". findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  9. ↑ Willis, John; Monush, Barry (2006). Screen World Film Annual. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 397. ISBN 9781557837066. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
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