---
name: "Betty Furness"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/betty-furness"
fi1m_id: "betty-furness"
imdb_id: "nm0299026"
tmdb_id: 139603
wikidata_id: "Q4898820"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "3 January 1916"
died: "2 April 1994"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T02:21:07.568554+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Betty Furness

## Identity

Betty Furness

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/betty-furness
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** betty-furness
- **IMDb ID:** nm0299026
- **TMDB ID:** 139603
- **Wikidata ID:** Q4898820
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Furness, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4898820, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0299026/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/139603

Actor. Born 3 January 1916 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 2 April 1994.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 3 January 1916, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 2 April 1994
- **Also known as:** Elizabeth Mary Furness
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Furness, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4898820, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0299026/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/139603

## Biography

Betty Furness, born Elizabeth Mary Furness, was an American actress. She began her career as a model before signing a contract with RKO Studios in 1932. She appeared in numerous films over the following years, including *Magnificent Obsession* (1935) and *Swing Time* (1936), in which she played Margaret Watson.

By the end of the 1930s she had credits in more than thirty-five films, after which she found fewer acting opportunities. Furness later worked in live television, becoming closely associated with Westinghouse as a product demonstrator and spokesperson from the late 1940s. She went on to serve as a consumer advocate, including as Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs under Lyndon B. Johnson, and as a reporter for NBC's *Today* programme.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, latimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Swing Time* (1936), Fi1m 84, as Margaret Watson — [page](https://film.one/film/swing-time.md)

## Complete filmography (44)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Westinghouse Total Electric Home* (1959), as Narrator
- *Climax!* (1954), series, as Beth Jaynes, Ann Kilgore
- *Ellis in Freedomland* (1952), as Spokeswoman for Westinghouse
- *Pontius Pilate* (1952), Actor
- *Studio One: Wuthering Heights* (1950), as Announcer
- *The Colgate Comedy Hour* (1950), series, as Maggie Watson
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Coral, Princess Livitski
- *The Philco Television Playhouse* (1948), series, Actor
- *North of Shanghai* (1939), as Helen Warner
- *It Can't Last Forever* (1937), as Carol Wilson
- *The Good Old Soak* (1937), as Lucy Hawley
- *Fair Warning* (1937), as Kate Farnham
- *They Wanted to Marry* (1937), as Sheila Hunter
- *Mama Steps Out* (1937), as Leila Cuppy
- *Mister Cinderella* (1936), as Patricia 'Pat' Randolph
- *All American Chump* (1936), as Kitty Crane
- *The President's Mystery* (1936), as Charlotte Brown
- *Swing Time* (1936), as Margaret Watson — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/swing-time.md)
- *The Three Wise Guys* (1936), as Clarabelle Brooks
- *Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs* (1936), Actor
- *Magnificent Obsession* (1935), as Joyce Hudson
- *Here Comes Cookie* (1935), as Phyllis Allen
- *The Keeper of the Bees* (1935), as Molly
- *Calm Yourself* (1935), as Mary Elizabeth Allenby
- *McFadden´s Flats* (1935), as Molly McFadden
- *Shadow of Doubt* (1935), as Lisa
- *The Band Plays On* (1934), as Kitty O'Brien
- *A Wicked Woman* (1934), as Yancey Stroud, aka Yancey Trice
- *Dangerous Corner* (1934), as Mrs. Betty Whitehouse
- *Gridiron Flash* (1934), as Jane Thurston
- *The Life of Vergie Winters* (1934), as Joan Shadwell
- *Beggars in Ermine* (1934), as Joyce Dawson
- *Let's Fall in Love* (1933), as Linda
- *Flying Down to Rio* (1933), as Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
- *Ace of Aces* (1933), as Card Playing Party Guest (uncredited)
- *Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men* (1933), as Evangeline
- *Midshipman Jack* (1933), as Ruth Rogers
- *Headline Shooter* (1933), as Miss Saunders
- *Emergency Call* (1933), as Alice Averill
- *Cross Fire* (1933), as Pat "Mike" Plummer
- *Scarlet River* (1933), as Babe Jewel
- *The Great Jasper* (1933), as Sylvia Bradfield
- *Lucky Devils* (1933), as Ginger
- *Renegades of the West* (1932), as Mary Fawcett

## Gallery

- ![Betty Furness (left) and Phyllis Fraser, both age 16, with newly approved contracts, Los Angeles (1932)](https://film.one/media/person/3856565/gallery-f6a0fee74c6e.jpg) Betty Furness (left) and Phyllis Fraser, both age 16, with newly approved contracts, Los Angeles (1932) — Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Betty_Furness_and_Phyllis_Fraser.jpg/1280px-Betty_Furness_and_Phyllis_Fraser.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Betty Furness](https://film.one/media/person/3856565/gallery-d8162867b453.jpg) Betty Furness — Image via TMDB
- ![Betty Furness](https://film.one/media/person/3856565/gallery-53e4193ca113.jpg) Betty Furness — Image via TMDB
- ![Betty Furness](https://film.one/media/person/3856565/gallery-68997b5d6eeb.jpg) Betty Furness — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/betty-furness