Betty Garrett, 1919-2011

Betty Garrett—An appreciation

By Ron Rapoport

In 1946, shortly after Betty Garrett became a musical comedy star on Broadway overnight, Nathaniel Benchley wrote this in the New York Herald-Tribune: “Would anybody like a punch in the nose? Very well, buster, all you have to do is say you didn’t like Betty Garrett in ‘Call Me Mister.’ Aha, I thought so.”

That set the tone for the belligerence Betty’s friends and fans often brought to their devotion to her that lasted until her death February 12 at the age of 91. Whether they discovered her in the classic musicals from MGM’s Golden Age, her key roles in two of television’s greatest hits or during a theater career that culminated in an L.A. Stage Ovation Award nomination at the age of 90, many of them claimed her with an almost personal pride of possession.

At an appearance in a theater in Boca Raton, Fla., in the ‘90s, for instance, a man called out from the audience that he had been a waiter at Camp Tamiment in the Poconos 60 years earlier and had danced with her in one of its variety shows. Betty called him up to the stage where he demonstrated that he remembered the lyrics of their number down to the last syllable.

Betty told marvelous stories—Louis B. Mayer poking her in the chest, stomping on her feet and warning her not to get pregnant because it upset the shooting schedule; Frank Sinatra needing padding to fill out the rear end of his sailor suit in “On the Town”—but also, and I think this helps explain the admiration so many people had for her, she was resilient in ways that took your breath away.

At the age of 79, she walked off a stage in Chicago, tripped into a stairwell and ripped open her shin to the bone. A few days after the second of two skin-graft operations, she was hosting a non-stop salon in her hotel suite and writing a poem about how loving and supportive her good right leg was behaving toward her mangled left one, as well as a hilarious velvet-shiv ode to hospital food. Three months later, she was tap dancing and turning somersaults at the annual S.T.A.G.E. benefit in Los Angeles for AIDS patients she co-chaired for many years.

But the greatest test of her resilience was not physical but emotional and political. Are there any other victims of the Hollywood blacklist who have funny stories about Sen. Joseph McCarthy? Betty’s was about the time McCarthy, drunker than a forest full of skunks, offered to buy her and her husband, Larry Parks, a drink after their performance in Las Vegas, then put his arm around Parks and said, “Are they giving you a tough time, kid?” Years later, when Betty told this to Studs Terkel during a radio interview, Terkel pounded the table in magnificent rage and yelled, “Son of a BITCH!”

To open the second act of her one-woman show, “Betty Garrett and Other Songs,” Betty sang, “I’m Still Here,” the Steven Sondheim song from “Follies” that has become an anthem for women singers of a certain age. (Been called a pinko Commie tool/Got through it stinko by my pool.)

One day the phone rang and a man who identified himself as Sondheim’s representative said, “We have been informed you have rewritten the lyrics to one of Mr. Sondheim’s songs. We must insist you cease doing this. Mr. Sondheim’s songs must be sung exactly as they are written.”

“Rewritten his lyrics!” she said. “I would never do that. Will you tell him that for me? And tell him something else, too? Tell him I think he’s been spying on me. I’ve done almost everything in that song.” Unlike the women who sang the song defiantly at the top of their voices, Betty approached it with a wistful bemusement. The effect was devastating. (Seen all my dreams disappear/But I’m here.)

But as much as Betty could laugh through the apocalypse, the blacklist never ceased to haunt her. Not so much for the harm it did to her own career—she did recover to some extent, making the cult classic “My Sister Eileen” with Jack Lemmon, Janet Leigh and Bob Fosse at Columbia, and acquiring a new generation of fans through her roles on “All in the Family” and “Laverne and Shirley”—but for the toll it took on Parks, who had been nominated for a best-actor Oscar for “The Jolson Story” and whose career as a leading man seemed assured.

The accusation that he had “named names” before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951 was false—the committee handed him a list of people it had already subpoenaed; he was not volunteering but reading—but, as is often the case, the myth left the truth in the dust and the death of Parks’ movie career at the hand of the right wing was accompanied by the snubs of friends on the left.

“I just love Betty and Larry,” said one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, with whom she had starred in several movies, “but it’s really dangerous to be around them any more.” That friendship eventually healed, but others never did. Those who did remain close to her, however, were never far from the realization that through the good times and bum times she had lived a great American life with humor, courage and grace.

“Betty Garrett is not a survivor,” Times theater critic Dan Sullivan once wrote, “she is a prevailer.” I’ll leave it there.

Ron Rapoport collaborated with Betty Garrett on her autobiography, Betty Garrett and Other Songs.

Tim and Tom on The Tonight Show

Standing outside the door leading backstage at The Tonight Show, Tom looked at Tim and said, “Do you know how many times we tried to get here?”

“Well, we finally made it,” Tim said.

Over the years, Tom has appeared on the show dozens of times—both with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno—and Tim had been on several times himself. But as a team they could never quite make it. Their book describes in some detail the efforts they made, which included an all-night trip to New York on a Greyhound bus they made just to audition--they sat behind some nuns who farted the whole way--and how important an appearance on the show was to young comedians back in the 1970s.

“As soon as you told someone you were a comedian back then,” Tom says, “they’d say, ‘Oh, yeah? Have you ever been on The Tonight Show?’ If you hadn’t, you weren’t a comedian in their eyes.”

And now that they were there together, it was time for reflection. “It’s the same building, the hallways, the same rooms,” Tom said as he settled into his dressing room in NBC’s Burbank studios. “Johnny did the show on a different stage, across the hall from the one Jay uses, but nothing else has changed. The makeup room is the same one I sat in three times when they came in and told me I'd been bumped after Craig Tennis, who was in charge of booking the guests, saw me at The Comedy Store. Then one day Fred DeCordova, Johnny’s producer, came into the room and said, ‘I’ve got some bad news for you. You’re going on.’”

Tom went out that evening in 1975, broke up Carson and his audience with his monologue, was called back for another bow and woke up the next morning to find his life changed forever. He’s never been out of work since. Watching TV that night, Tim felt as if he had been kicked in the gut and realized he was going to have to make some changes in his life if his partner wasn’t going to leave him behind. Two years later of struggle and hard work later, he was Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati and his life had changed irrevocably, too.

They walked out onto the set, sat down next to Cate Blanchett and traded jokes with Leno, who told his audience how funny their book was, how full of great stories about the early days in which they had all been struggling young comedians together. Watching all the fun they were having, you might almost think it was worth the wait.

Tim and Tom on the Election of Barack Obama and the Politics of Racial Humor

Tim and Tom reacted to the election of Barack Obama as president the way much of the rest of America did--with amazement and the feeling that it's about time. This proves we're not a racist country, Tom says, and while Tim doesn't go quite that far he agrees we've come a long way since the days at Norfolk State where he and a lot of other students risked their health and safety in the civil rights movement.
They also have some strong views on what the Obama family occupying the White House will do to racial humor. It's time to get past the old stereotypes, and the new ones, too, Tim told D.L. Hughley on his new CNN comedy show, time to cut down on the pointless profanity and the mindless denigrating of black women. Tim and Tom were so caught up in this topic, in fact, that they expounded on it in an article for the CNN.com Web site that drew a great deal of reaction. (To read the article click here.)
Tim and Tom also appeared recently on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, who reminded Tom during a break that they had met before, at a restaurant when Ferguson had just arrived in the country. Tom encouraged him and wished him luck. "That really made me feel good," Ferguson said. "I've never forgotten it."
Next up on the Tim and Tom publicity tour is a date with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show Dec. 5.

Three Thousand Italians Can't Be Wrong

Tim and Tom wound up an exciting weekend in the nation's capital Saturday night on the dais of the National Italian American Foundation's annual gala banquet at which Tom was the emcee.
"I'm making Tim an honorary Sicilian tonight," Tom told the audience, which included such heavy hitters as Rudy Giuliani, Nancy Pelosi, Samuel Alito, Barbara Sinatra, Gina Lollobrigida, Michael Andretti, Ray (Boom Boom) Mancini and many more. "Right now, his name is Tim Reidoni."
Earlier that day, Tim and Tom appeared at a booth at the NIAF trade show where they signed the book for a steady stream of customers, including Tom's old pal, Yogi Berra.
"To Yogi," they wrote. "Whenever we come to a fork in the road, we take it."
Soon, Berra became an impromptu salesman, telling everyone who asked if they could have their picture taken with him, "Sure. You want to buy a book?"
Tom also performed at a tribute to Frank Sinatra on Friday night and he and Tim appeared Thursday before an enthusiastic crowd of students at Tim's alma mater, Norfolk State University, and, later, at Vertigo Books in College Park, Maryland.
Then on Sunday, after four weeks on the road talking about their book, they headed home for some well-deserved rest. You'll still be able to see, hear and read about them in interviews they have given to many national media outlets and in December they'll be back in Chicago for a number of appearances, including one at the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce. We'll be back with more details soon.

Tim and Tom and Jay

They were having a meet-the-author session at a Borders store in Sherman Oaks, Calif., over the weekend when suddenly a celebrity roast broke out.
“I met Tom in Boston in 1969,” a voice shouted from the back of the room. “He was talking then and he’s talking now. I could hear him out in the parking lot.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce an old friend,” Tom said with a laugh. “Come on up here, Jay. Jay Leno, everyone.”
Carrying a travel bag containing the outfit he would wear during his stand-up routine in Las Vegas that evening, Leno grabbed the microphone and soon a sedate book discussion and signing became anything but.
“Don’t you ever get a chance to say anything, Tim” Leno told Tim. “I thought that was a cardboard cutout of you up here.”
Leno picked up a copy of the book and did a double-take—“Hey, what’s this?—when he saw David Letterman’s warm endorsement on the back cover.
"Dave bought two," Dreesen said.
"Then loan me 50 bucks," Leno replied as he handed Tom his book to sign. Then he turned to Tim and said, "Do you want to take advantage of this opportunity to say something?”
Laughing hard, Tim told how he and Tom first ran into Leno in the 1970s when Tim and Tom were working at the Boston Playboy Club. “He was wearing a three-piece suit and smoking a pipe and wearing a deerstalker cap and I thought, ‘Sherlock Holmes?’” Tim said. “Later, we were both offered a job at a place run by the mob in Washington. I took it and he didn’t. Tom was touring with Sammy Davis then and there I was working at a topless joint near the Pentagon.”
“I was so jealous,” Tom said.
At that moment, Tom saw Joe Mantegna, the celebrated actor and a long-time friend from Chicago who is now starring on television in “Criminal Minds,” in the crowd and invited him to say a few words, too.
“It’s a pleasure to be here with two old friends,” Mantegna said.
“They are old,” Leno said.
“But it’s great to see that they made it all the way to Sherman Oaks,” Mantegna said.
“This is the largest crowd Tim and Tom ever played before,” Leno said. “OK, I’ve got to go now. I’m at the Mirage tonight and you guys are here.”
Leno left the room to laughter and applause and then it was Gary Owens’ turn to take an impromptu turn.
“People don’t know what wonderful charity work Tim and Tom do,” said the veteran actor and radio personality who played the announcer on “Laugh-In.” “They raise money for the poverty-stricken people of Beverly Hills. The ones who live on Skid Drive.”
Steve Landesberg, who gained fame for his dead-on characterization of detective Arthur P. Dietrich on “Barney Miller,” also swapped stories with Tim and Tom as they signed books for members of the enthusiastic crowd. So did comedian Brad Sanders; John Romeo, who has been one of Leno’s writers for more than 15 years; his wife, Regina Ackerman, a production coordinator for “The Tonight Show,” and John Rappaport who was the supervising producer and head writer for “M*A*S*H” during the last four years of its run.
And thus ended a busy week in Los Angeles during which they taped “The Tavis Smiley Show” and “The Bonnie Hunt Show” and appeared in a wild and wacky discussion on Jamie Foxx’ X-rated “Foxxhole” on Sirius Radio. Next up is Norfolk next weekend where Tim and Tom will appear at Tim’s alma mater, Norfolk State University, on Thursday, Oct. 16, and Washington on Saturday where they will be on the dais at the National Italian-American Foundation banquet, which Tom will emcee. Leonardo DiCaprio and Gina Lollobrigida are among the honored guests, and Barack Obama and John McCain are expected as well. Wonder if they’ve read any good books lately?

Back to the Future

It was deju vu all over again as Tim and Tom stood outside the Laugh Factory on Sunset Boulevard, looking up at their names on the marquee before the first public appearance of their book tour in Los Angeles. So often during the years after their bitter breakup as a team they had polished their solo acts not far away at a similar club, the Comedy Store, that it was like a homecoming.
They had struggled so hard in those days and now they were here to reminisce before an audience of younger comedians, actors and writers and others in show business.
Tom couldn't help thinking of the days he had hitchhiked up and down Sunset Boulevard from his temporary home in an abandoned car in an alley just off the street. Or about the time he looked up at a billboard above Sunset and seen his name posted along with that of Sammy Davis Jr., heralding a performance at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. One day, he said, maybe he'd be looking up at another billboard--one advertising a movie made from their book, which has already received inquiries from several studios and producers.
Inside the club, they told many stories from the book, and some that aren't in it, about their experiences with Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters and other show business greats.
"Sometimes, I feel like we're Forrest Gump," Tim said. "We didn't make history so much as we weaved through it."
Tim and Tom were delighted to be joined by Betty Garrett, the legendary star of stage and screen, who was soon to open in "Waiting in the Wings," Noel Coward's last play, at Theatre West just over the hill from the Laugh Factory.
"This book just blew me away," said Betty, who will become 90 years old next year and whose own show business career, which was filled with so many ups and downs, is chronicled in the book, "Betty Garrett and Other Songs."
Other appearances scheduled for Tim and Tom in Los Angeles are for "The Bonnie Hunt Show" and "The Tavis Smiley Show." Then it's off to Washington where on Oct. 18, they will be on the dais as Tom emcees the annual banquet of the National Italian American Foundation. Both Barack Obama and John McCain are scheduled to appear. What a photo-op that would be.

Tim and Tom Take Richmond

Tim and Tom appeared at perhaps the classiest venue of their tour so far Wednesday night, the elegant Library of Virginia near the state capitol in Richmond, where a crowd of about 75 people included Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and the legendary civil-rights activist State Senator Henry Marsh.

This was a homecoming for Tim, whose home and studio are located in nearby Petersburg, and who greeted many old friends invited by his wife, Daphne Maxwell-Reid, who worked so hard in putting the event together.

After signing books at a reception, Tim and Tom entertained the enthusiastic crowd for close to an hour, cracking people up with their by-now well-practiced back-and-forth banter about their days as the first, and last, black-and-white comedy team in the history of show business.

But for all the laughter they brought forth from the crowd, they were also questioned on some serious matters. How had they managed to stick together through all the adversity they encountered? someone asked. Maybe it was because they had both been so poor as children, Tom said. We found that we could survive together in a way we might not have been able to do individually.

What do you think of race relations in America today? another questioner wanted to know. It’s the elephant in the room, Tim said. We like to think we’re beyond the problems of the past, and we certainly have made progress, but they are still with us. As comedians, he said, they tried to use race as a vehicle to examine racial attitudes, rather than as simply the punch line to jokes. The audience nodded appreciatively.

Afterwards, Tim and Tom joined Daphne and a party that included Tim’s daughter Tori Reid for dinner at an Italian restaurant during which Tom deserted the table from time to time to see how his beloved Cubs were doing in the first game of the National League playoffs. He did his best not to allow the final score (Dodgers 7, Cubs 2) to ruin a memorable evening that was a highlight of their tour.