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Betty Burgess, born Elizabeth Burgess on February 15, 1917, in Los Angeles, California, was the daughter of a Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra employee. She began voice lessons and singing on the radio at age seven. Betty also learned tap dancing and guitar. Aspiring to perform on stage, she enrolled in a drama school. At 18, a talent agent discovered her, leading to roles in local plays. The petite blonde stood just over five feet tall and weighed 100 pounds. In 1935, she won the lead role in the musical Coronado, beating 40 other actresses, and received rave reviews. She then took supporting roles in Tough To Handle and I Demand Payment.
In 1938, Betty married comedian Sonny Lamont, with whom she had a son. The couple toured vaudeville and co-starred in the 1939 western The Adventures of the Masked Phantom, Betty’s final film. She left show business to focus on motherhood. After separating from Sonny, she married 39-year-old Donald Johansen in 1941, and they had a daughter named Rebecca before divorcing soon after. On January 5, 1960, Betty wed professional wrestler George Zaharias, but they separated six months later. In 1962, she married her fourth husband, Dr. Charles E. Magner, and moved to Montana, where she pursued painting and antique collecting. Betty divorced Magner in 1985 and returned to California. She passed away on November 15, 2002, at age 85 and was buried at Oak Park Cemetery in Claremont, California.
