Tribute: Betty Garrett

The talented musical comedy star Betty Garrett died this week at the age of 91. She was known for playing brassy, warm-hearted but outspoken roles in musicals like On the Town and My Sister Eileen. She was on television with recurring roles in “Laverne and Shirley” and “All in the Family.” She won me over forever when I happened on her first film appearance in a sweet film 1948 film with Margaret O’Brien called “Big City.” She plays a dancer named Shoo-Shoo who does a nonsense musical number called “Okle Baby Dokle.” In “Neptune’s Daughter,” she helped to introduce “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

I was lucky enough to see her one-woman autobiographical live show, “Betty Garrett and Other Songs,” one of the most purely enjoyable evenings I have ever spent in a theater.