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. | |
| Born | May 2, 1911 |
| Died | February 3, 1989 (aged 77) Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Betty Treadville, Bettie Treadville |
| Occupation(s) | actress, 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.