Bette Treadville

Bette Treadville (May 2, 1911 – February 3, 1989) was an American singer and actress, based in Los Angeles, California.

Bette Treadville
Bette Treadville, from a 1939 city directory.
BornMay 2, 1911
DiedFebruary 3, 1989(1989-02-03) (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Other namesBetty Treadville, Bettie Treadville
Occupationactress, singer

Career

Treadville was known as a "torch singer", a contralto who favored blues and ballads.[1] She sang in Paris in the 1930s. She was described as the "heavy, heavy mama of song", in reference to her physique and performance style,[2][3] and billed as "The Girl of 1,000 Songs" for her extensive repertoire, "some nice, some spicy".[4] She was based in Los Angeles, a singer at Curtis Mosby's Club Alabam on the city's Central Avenue from 1933 to 1940.[5][6] In 1935, she performed in a fundraising concert organized by Clarence Muse, benefiting the NAACP's anti-lynching work.[7][8][9] She sang on radio shows, and made at least one recording, singing "Baby, Ain'tcha Satisfied?" with the Ceelle Burke orchestra, in 1936.[10]

As an actress, Treadville appeared in several films, including the comedy One Dark Night (1939; re-released as Night Club Girl in 1944), a race film,[11] now lost, co-starring comedian Mantan Moreland;[12][13] it was reported that Hattie McDaniel turned down the Treadville role.[14] Other film roles for Treadville were small parts in As Good as Married (1937), All's Fair (1938), East of Eden (1955),[15] and Day of the Nightmare (1965). She was also seen in episodes of the television shows The New Phil Silvers Show (1963)[16] and Ben Casey (1965). On stage, appeared in the Mary Sullivan comedy Halo on a Shelf (1961) in Hollywood,[17] and in a revival of Rain in Pasadena, in a 1963 production starring Vera Miles.[18] In 1973, she had a role in the Beah Richards show One is a Crowd in Los Angeles.[19]

Personal life

Treadville was described in 1932 as "recently estranged wife of Sunburnt Jim" Wilson, a dancer and radio comedian.[20] She died in Los Angeles in 1989, aged 77 years.

References
  1. "Torch Singer Bette Treadville Gets Movie Role" Jet (July 8, 1954): 62.
  2. Earl J. Morris, "Grand Town Day and Night" Pittsburgh Courier (June 10, 1939): 20. via Newspapers.com
  3. Lawrence F. LaMar, "Teddy Felton is Star of Coast's Bal Taborin Hit" Chicago Defender (November 14, 1943): 10. via ProQuest
  4. Advertisement, Arizona Republic (February 21, 1949): 6. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Club Alabam has Big New Show" Chicago Defender (January 16, 1937): 24. via ProQuest
  6. "Curtis Mosby Nightery Set" Chicago Defender (November 23, 1940): 21. via ProQuest
  7. "California Stages Big Benefit to Aid Charity" Chicago Defender (July 13, 1935): 6. via ProQuest
  8. "Stage, Screen Stars Aid Clarence Muse's Benefit" Chicago Defender (July 6, 1935): 8. via ProQuest
  9. J. Cullen Fentress, "Dollars to Save 'Our Necks'" California Eagle (July 28, 1934).
  10. Alan Bargebuhr, "New Issues" Cadence Magazine (October-November-December 2012): 125.
  11. "Another Picture by Million Dollars" Pittsburgh Courier (August 26, 1939): 20. via Newspapers.com
  12. "Principals Prepare for Million Dollar's 'One Dark Night'" Pittsburgh Courier (September 9, 1939): 20. via Newspapers.com
  13. Larry Richards, African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography (McFarland 2015): 125, 128-129. ISBN 9781476610528
  14. Earl J. Morris, "Grand Town Day and Night" Pittsburgh Courier (August 19, 1939): 20. via Newspapers.com
  15. Bruce Levene, James Dean in Mendocino: The Filming of East of Eden (Pacific Transcriptions 1994): 28, 46, 58. ISBN 9780933391130
  16. "Phil Silvers" The Indianapolis Star (December 22, 1963): 112. via Newspapers.com
  17. Advertisement, Los Angeles Times (October 1, 1961): 412. via Newspapers.com
  18. Margaret Harford, "'Rain' Revived on Pasadena Stage" Los Angeles Times (March 9, 1963): 7. via Newspapers.com
  19. "One is a Crowd" Los Angeles Times (May 13, 1973): 509. via Newspapers.com
  20. "Girl Singer Hits in Coast Opener" Chicago Defender (June 18, 1932): 5. via ProQuest
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