Betty Field

Betty Field (February 8, 1916 – September 13, 1973) was an American actress whose career spanned Broadway, film, television, and radio over four decades. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Katharine (née Lynch) Field, she began acting before the age of 15 and entered stock theater directly after high school graduation. She subsequently trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where producer and director George Abbott is credited with having discovered her.

Field launched her professional stage career in 1934 in Howard Lindsay's farce She Loves Me Not on the London stage. After that production concluded, she returned to the United States and pursued a sustained presence on Broadway that lasted from 1934 to 1971. Her Broadway credits include Page Miss Glory (1934), Room Service (1937), Angel Island (1937), If I Were You (1938), What a Life (1938), The Primrose (1939), Ring Two (1939), Two on an Island (1940), Flight to the West (1940), A New Life (1943), The Voice of the Turtle (1943), Dream Girl (1945), The Rat Race (1949), Not for Children (1951), The Fourposter (1951), The Ladies of the Corridor (1953), Festival (1955), The Waltz of the Toreadors (1958), A Touch of the Poet (1958), A Loss of Roses (1959), Strange Interlude (1963), Where's Daddy? (1966), and All Over (1971). Among those productions, she appeared in Elmer Rice's Dream Girl and Jean Anouilh's The Waltz of the Toreadors. Her final stage performances came in three productions at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1971.

Field made her film debut in 1939, the same year her portrayal of Mae, Curly's wife and the sole female character in Of Mice and Men, established her reputation as a dramatic actress. She subsequently appeared opposite John Wayne in The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) and played Cassandra Tower in Kings Row (1942). A life member of The Actors Studio, Field returned to Hollywood regularly despite her preference for stage work. Her film appearances include Flesh and Fantasy (1943), The Southerner (1945), The Great Gatsby (1949) with Alan Ladd, in which she played Daisy Buchanan, Picnic (1955) with William Holden and Kim Novak, Bus Stop (1956) with Marilyn Monroe, Peyton Place (1957), for which she received a Laurel Award nomination, Hound-Dog Man (1959) with Carol Lynley and Stuart Whitman, Butterfield 8 (1960) with Elizabeth Taylor, Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) with Burt Lancaster, 7 Women (1966) with Anne Bancroft, and How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968) with Dean Martin and Stella Stevens. Her final film role was in Coogan's Bluff (1968) with Clint Eastwood and Susan Clark.

On television, Field made guest appearances on series including Route 66, The Untouchables, General Electric Theater, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, and The Defenders. Her radio work included the role of Barbara Pearson on The Aldrich Family, as well as appearances on Old Gold Comedy Theater, Studio One, and Suspense.

Field was married three times. Her first marriage, to playwright Elmer Rice, ended in divorce in May 1956; the couple had three children, John, Paul, and Judith. John, who became a lawyer, died in a swimming accident at age 40. Her second marriage, to Edwin J. Lukas, lasted from 1957 to 1967. Her third marriage, to Raymond Olivere, began in 1968 and continued until her death. Field died of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 13, 1973, at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts, at the age of 57.