by Up until the very week she died, actress and singer Betty Garrett was active, teaching classes and socializing with friends. The 91-year-old died Saturday of an aortic aneurysm.
While a successful Broadway and MGM musical star, Garrett is probably best known for her roles as Irene Lorenzo on “All in the Family” and Edna Babish on “Laverne and Shirley.” As Lorenzo, Garrett played the foil to Archie Bunker, often clashing with his chauvinistic statements with her own brand of extreme feminism. As Babish, she settled into a much more benign role as Laverne and Shirley’s level-headed landlady.
I always felt her talents were wasted on the second series. I think she did a tremendous job of portraying a strong feminine presence on “All in the Family,” emphasizing the striking contrast between Edith Bunker and the growing army of “new, liberated womanhood” sprouting up in sitcoms, dramas, and real life during the turbulent 70s.
Before her days as a television personality, Garrett also was known as a musical comedy star, starring in MGM’s “Neptune’s Daughter” (1949) and “On the Town” (1949). In her later years, she put together one-woman shows, including “Betty Garrett and Other Songs.”
Garrett is survived by her sons, Andrew and Garrett Parks, and a granddaughter, Madison.
You will notice I am NOT blogging about the Grammys. I am exercising the rule, “If you don’t have anything nice to say…don’t say anything.”
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