Betty Garde

• Name — Betty Garde • Birth Name — Katharine Elizabeth Garde • Born — 19 September 1905 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 25 December 1989 • Place of death — Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania • Education — University of Pennsylvania • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1925–1971

Born in Philadelphia, Garde was starring in productions of South Philadelphia's Broadway Players by age 15. She attended the University of Pennsylvania.

On the stage since the early 1920s, Garde made her Broadway debut as Alma Borden in Easy Come, Easy Go (1925–1926) and played character roles in productions including The Social Register (1931–1932) and The Primrose Path (1939). A tall woman, standing 5'10", she was cast as Aunt Eller in the original 1943 Broadway production of Oklahoma! She also portrayed Mrs. Gordon in Agatha Sue, I Love You (1966).

After joining CBS in 1933, Garde began to work extensively in radio, performing on some three dozen shows including Lorenzo Jones, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, The Big Story, The Eddie Cantor Show (on which she played "all the women roles"), Front Page Farrell, Maudie's Diary, Perry Mason, Theatre Guild on the Air and The Fat Man. In 1934 Garde worked with Orson Welles on the CBS Radio series The American School of the Air, and she later performed in Welles' radio series including Les Misérables, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, The Campbell Playhouse and Ceiling Unlimited.

Her television credits include playing Belle Starr on the January 27, 1952 episode of The Gabby Hayes Show. Garde also made appearances on The Honeymooners as the Kramdens' maid, Thelma; on The Real McCoys as a farmer, Aggie Larkin; on The Untouchables, as a maid in an episode starring Elizabeth Montgomery ("The Rusty Heller Story"); and on two episodes of The Twilight Zone, including "The Midnight Sun", opposite Lois Nettleton.

Betty Garde died December 25, 1989, at the age of 84 in a hospital in Sherman Oaks, California. No cause was given and there were no immediate survivors.

• Film • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1929 — The Lady Lies — Hilda Pearson • 1930 — Queen High — Florence Cole • 1931 — Damaged Love — Madge Sloan • The Girl Habit — Hattie Henry • 1948 — Call Northside 777 — Wanda Skutnik — Alternative title: Calling Northside 777 • Cry of the City — Miss Pruett • 1950 — Caged — Kitty Stark • 1951 — The Prince Who Was a Thief — Mirza • 1955 — One Desire — Mrs. O'Dell • 1962 — The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm — Miss Bettenhausen • Television • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1950 — The Big Story — Annie — 1 episode • 1950–1951 — Suspense — 3 episodes • 1950 — The Big Story — Annie — 1 episode • 1950–1951 — Suspense — 3 episodes • 1952 — The Gabby Hayes Show — Belle Starr — 1 episode • 1955 — The Honeymooners — Thelma — 1 episode • 1955–1959 — The United States Steel Hour — Mom Mrs. Flynn — 2 episodes • 1956 — General Electric Theater — Annie — 1 episode • The Edge of Night — Mattie Lane Grimsley — Unknown episodes • 1957 — Decoy — Landlady — 1 episode • 1957–1959 — As the World Turns — Miss Tyler — Unknown episodes • 1959 — Mr. Lucky — Maybelle Towers — 1 episode • 1959–1960 — The Real McCoys — Aggie Larkin — 2 episodes • The Untouchables — Norma Guzik Alice — 2 episodes • 1960 — The Chevy Mystery Show — Mrs. Andrews — 1 episode • Adventures in Paradise — Queen Atea — 1 episode • 1961 — The Islanders — Mme. Arbedutian — 1 episode • Shirley Temple's Storybook — The Flowerwoman — 1 episode • Checkmate — Sara — 1 episode • Route 66 — Lydia Sullivan — 1 episode • The Twilight Zone — Passenger Mrs. Bronson — 2 episodes • 1962 — Ben Casey — Florabelle Hanks — 1 episode • Car 54, Where Are You? — Ma Dearheart — 1 episode • 1971 — All the Way Home — Aunt Sadie Follet — Television movie