Betty Compton

A member of the Ziegfeld Follies, she appeared in the original stage production of Funny Face (1927) alongside Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire, as well as Oh, Kay! In 1926. Compton married film dialog director Edward D. Dowling on February 16, 1931, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and they were divorced in that city on March 20, 1931. She had received a divorce from a previous marriage in 1923. She married Walker on April 18, 1933, in Cannes, France. She and Walker adopted a son, James J. Walker II, and a daughter, Mary Ann Walker. In 1940, Compton began divorce action against Walker. The divorce would become official on March 15, 1941 in Key West. On May 11, 1942, Compton married West Point graduate and consulting engineer Theodore Knappen in Jersey City. That was her fourth wedding. She and Knappen had a son, Theodore Compton Knappen. This would be the only child Compton would give birth to. According to Knappen, Compton had been ill since the birth of their son on January 19, 1944. On July 12, 1944, Compton died in Doctors Hospital, New York, aged 38.

• Name — Betty Compton • Birth Name — Violet Halling Compton • Born — 13 May 1906 • Birthplace — Sandown, Isle of Wight, England • Died — 12 July 1944 • Place of death — Manhattan, New York City, U.S. • Occupation — Stage, film actress • Spouse — Edward D. Dowling (1931-1931, divorced) Jimmy Walker (1933-1941; divorced) Theodore Temple Knappen (1942-1944; her death) • Children — 3 • Illustration — Compton and husband Jimmy Walker at the White House in 1938