Betty Francisco
Betty Francisco (born Elizabeth Barton; September 26, 1900 – November 25, 1950) was an American silent-film actress, appearing primarily in supporting roles. Her sisters Evelyn and Margaret were also actresses.
Also recorded as Elizabeth Barton
Betty Francisco

Edwin Bower Hesser · Photoplay (Jan. - Jun. 1922) at the Internet Archive · Public domain
- Name
- Betty Francisco
- Born
- 26 September 1900
- Birthplace
- Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
- Died
- 25 November 1950
- Place of death
- El Cerrito, Riverside, California, U.S.
- Birth Name
- Elizabeth Barton
- Occupation
- Actress
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q4802805 · wikipedia · Betty Francisco
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Betty Francisco • Born — 26 September 1900 • Birthplace — Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. • Died — 25 November 1950 • Place of death — El Cerrito, Riverside, California, U.S. • Birth Name — Elizabeth Barton • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1920–1934 • Relatives — Evelyn Francisco (sister) • Burial Place — Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Early years
Early years
Francisco was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. As a child, she acted in stock theater companies. When she was older, she became an artists' model.
Career
Career
Francisco is credited in more than 50 films from 1920 to 1934, after which it appears she retired from motion picture acting. Her first film credit was in the 1920 film A Broadway Cowboy. Selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923, she nevertheless continued to be cast in secondary roles and rarely played the lead. She was often cast as the "other woman", as in Across the Continent (1922), Fair Play (1925), and The Spirit of Youth (1929). Her work included a wide range of genres; in 1923, for example, she was cast in the costume drama Ashes of Vengeance, the contemporary melodrama Flaming Youth, and the western Double Dealing. She is seen in the Harry Langdon comedy Long Pants (1927). Her career continued into the sound era. She appears in some of the earliest movie musicals: Broadway (1929), Smiling Irish Eyes (1929), and Cecil B. DeMille's Madam Satan (1930). Her last film was Romance in the Rain (1934).
Personal life
Personal life
In 1930, Francisco married Fred Spradling, a stock broker. She died at her Corona ranch on November 25, 1950, at 50 years old and was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California.
Partial filmography
Partial filmography
• Illustration — Betty Francisco with Wallace Reid, c. 1921 • A Broadway Cowboy (1920) • The Furnace (1920) • Greater Than Love (1921) • Straight from Paris (1921) • A Guilty Conscience (1921) • Midsummer Madness (1921) • Across the Continent (1922) • Her Night of Nights (1922) • Double Dealing (1923) • Ashes of Vengeance (1923) • The Old Fool (1923) • Poor Men's Wives (1923) • Crinoline and Romance (1923) • Flaming Youth (1923) • A Noise in Newboro (1923) • The Love Piker (1923) • Maytime (1923) • Gambling Wives (1924) • The Wife of the Centaur (1924) • Big Timber (1924) • East of Broadway (1924) • On Probation (1924) • How to Educate a Wife (1924) • Jimmie's Millions (1925) • Wasted Lives (1925) • Fair Play (1925) • Private Affairs (1925) • Seven Keys to Baldpate (1925) • Irene (1926) • Don Juan's Three Nights (1926) • The Phantom of the Forest (1926) • The Gingham Girl (1927) • Long Pants (1927) • Too Many Crooks (1927) • The Gay Retreat (1927) • Queen of the Chorus (1928) • The Spirit of Youth (1929) • Broadway (1929) • Smiling Irish Eyes (1929) • Street of Chance (1930) • Madam Satan (1930) • The Widow from Chicago (1930) • Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) • Romance in the Rain (1934)

Actress Betty Francisco, on page 69 of the November 6, 1920 Exhibitors Herald.
Exhibitors Herald (Oct. - Dec. 1920) on the Internet Archive

Advertisement for the American drama film Poor Men's Wives (1923), from the insert at page 18 of the January 27, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review.
B.P. Schulberg Productions / Preferred Pictures · Exhibitor's Trade Review (Dec. 1922 - Feb. 1923) on the Internet Archive
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1900
Betty Francisco born at Little Rock.
1950
Betty Francisco died at El Cerrito.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Little Rock.
Birth place
El Cerrito.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Betty Francisco, revision 1354065038 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The three Francisco sisters are all well started on screen careers. Left to right, they are Margaret, Betty, and Evelyn
- 2.Cochran, Robert. Lights! Camera! Arkansas!: From Broncho Billy to Billy Bob Thornton. Arkansas UP. 13. 2015. 978-1557286727.
- 3.America's Most Perfect Blonde, Betty Francisco. News-Democrat. 17. March 18, 1923.
- 4.Wollstein, Hans J. Betty Francisco biography. Allmovie.com.
- 5.Katchmer, George A. A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. 305. 2002. 978-0-7864-4693-3.
- 6.Bradley, Edwin M. The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through 1932. McFarland. 43; 49; 141. 2004. 978-0-7864-2029-2.
- 7.Albuquerque Journal. Silent Film Actress Betty Francisco Died. 27 November 1950.
- 8.Betty Francisco. The New York Times. Associated Press. 24. November 27, 1950.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
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Born at
1- Little RockPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
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