Betta St. John

Betta St. John, born Betty Jean Striegler on November 26, 1929, in Hawthorne, California, was an American actress, singer, and dancer whose career spanned Broadway, the West End, and Hollywood and British cinema. She died on June 23, 2023, at an assisted living facility in Brighton, England, at the age of 93.

St. John began performing as a child, training alongside Shirley Temple as part of the Meglin Kiddies troupe. Her screen debut came at age ten in an uncredited role in the 1939 James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich film Destry Rides Again, followed by another uncredited part as an orphan in the 1943 adaptation of Jane Eyre, which starred Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine.

Her Broadway career ran from 1945 to 1949. She played a small role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel beginning in 1945, remaining with the production through 1947 before joining its touring company until 1949. That same year she originated the role of Liat in South Pacific, appearing in the Broadway production before reprising the role in London's West End.

St. John's Hollywood film work accelerated in the early 1950s. In 1953 she appeared in three films: The Robe, Dream Wife opposite Cary Grant, and All the Brothers Were Valiant. The following year she appeared in The Student Prince and Dangerous Mission alongside Victor Mature. After relocating to England, she took starring roles in British productions including High Tide at Noon, the horror film Corridors of Blood with Boris Karloff, and Horror Hotel with Christopher Lee. She also starred in two Tarzan films: Tarzan and the Lost Safari in 1957, notable as the first entry in the franchise shot in color, and Tarzan the Magnificent in 1960. St. John continued acting in film and television until 1965.

She was married to English actor Peter Grant from 1952 until his death in 1992, and the couple had three children. In 2019, St. John was inducted into the Hawthorne Hall of Fame.