Hollywood Knitting - Betty Grable
Posted by Kelli Ladwig on
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was born December 18, 1916 in St. Louis, MO. According to a newspaper published at the time of her death, "Her 42 movies during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million. She set a record of 12 consecutive years in the top 10 of box office stars. The Treasury Department in 1946-47 listed her as the highest-salaried American woman. She earned more than $3 million during her career."
A pin up photo made if her in a white bathing suit became the most popular pin up photo during WWII. Purportedly, over 3 million copies of the photo were distributed to soldiers. She was known as "the Million Dollar Legs."
As her career reached its zenith, she pushed for more creative control of her pictures. She insisted that her light-hearted musical pictures because that is what sold. The studio often tried to push her into more dramatic roles but she stayed true to that formula and Fox benefitted from it.
She died in 1973 from lung cancer.
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