Betty Kean

Betty Kean (December 15, 1914 - September 29, 1986) was an actress and part of the 1950s era comedy duo the Kean Sisters with her sister Jane Kean.[1] She married four times, including to actors such as her last husband comedian Lew Parker. She died in 1986 of cancer in Hollywood.[2]

Betty Kean
Born(1914-12-15)December 15, 1914
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedSeptember 29, 1986(1986-09-29) (aged 71)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1942-1986
Spouse(s)
Roy Sedley
(m. 1934; annulled 1936)

Frank Fay
(m. 1937; div. 1939)

Jim Backus
(m. 1939; div. 1942)

Lew Parker
(m. 1956; his death 1972)
Children2

Biography

Kean was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1914. She began her acting career in 1942, appearing in films like Moonlight Masquerade, Gals, Incorporated, Sing a Jingle and Hi, Good Lookin'!, among others.

During the 1950s she was part, along her sister Jane, of the comedy duo the Kean Sisters, which worked the nightclub circuit throughout the 1940s and 1950s and appeared on Broadway in the short-lived 1955 musical, Ankles Aweigh.[3]

She appeared in several TV series like Leave It to Larry, Naked City, The Andy Griffith Show, My World and Welcome to It and The Love Boat.

One of her last television appearances was in the February 22, 1986 episode of The Facts of Life, “The Lady Who Came to Dinner” as a traveling vaudevillian performer whom Tootie hires for the entertainment during Blair’s 21st birthday.

Her final film credit was Dreamscape in 1984.

Personal life

Kean was married four times; to Roy Sedley from 1934 to 1936, to Frank Fay from 1937 to 1939, with whom she had one daughter, Cathy Jane Fay, to Jim Backus from 1939 to 1942 and lastly to Lew Parker from 1956 to 1972 with whom she had another daughter, Deirdre.

Death

Kean died of cancer in Los Angeles on September 29, 1986. She was survived by her two daughters.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References
  1. AP. "Betty Kean, 69, a TV Actress And Part of 50's Comedy Act".
  2. "Singer and Dancer Betty Kean Dies at 71 : Gained Fame With Her Sister Jane Over a 50-Year Career". 2 October 1986 – via LA Times.
  3. "For Her, 'Honeymooners' Never Over : Musical: Jane Kean, who performs on college and cruise circuits, is best remembered as Trixie in the latter-day cast of the TV classic...", L.A. Times, May 4, 1991; accessed April 16, 2019.


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