Shuey Sisters
Left to right:
Maude, Lillian, Bess, Mable
Maude Shuey married John Rhodes. They had two children, Kenneth Rhodes and Betty Jane Rhodes. Betty Jane Rhodes went to Hollywood and starred or sang in about 20 feature length films, some of which were nominated for Academy Awards:
Scene from "Jungle Jim" - Betty Jane Rhodes was 15 years old when she starred in this film
Scenes from "Jungle Jim"
Betty Jane Rhodes
Betty Jane Rhodes
Date of birth (location)
21 April 1921
Rockford, Illinois, USAMini biography
This swinging singer from WWII was born on April 14, 1921 in Rockford... (show more)
Sometimes Credited As:
Betty Rhodes / Jane Rhodes
Actress - filmography
(1940s) (1930s)
- Halfway to Heaven (1944) (as Betty Rhodes) .... The Girl
... aka Musical Parade: Halfway to Heaven (USA: series title)- You Can't Ration Love (1944) (as Betty Rhodes) .... Betty Hammond
- Mardi Gras (1943) (as Betty Rhodes) .... Suzy Brown
... aka Musical Parade: Mardi Gras (USA: series title)- Salute for Three (1943) (as Betty Rhodes) .... Judy Ames
- Priorities on Parade (1942) (as Betty Rhodes) .... Lee Davis
- Sweater Girl (1942) .... Louise Menard
- The Fleet's In (1942) .... Diana Golden (movie star)
- Mountain Moonlight (1941) .... Carol Weaver
... aka Moving in Society (UK)- They Met in Argentina (1941) (uncredited) .... Singer During Opening Credits
- Along the Rio Grande (1941) .... Mary Loring
- Millionaire Playboy (1940) (uncredited) .... Girl at Lodge with Tennis Racket
... aka Glamour Boy (UK)- Oh Johnny, How You Can Love (1940) .... Specialty number
- Having Wonderful Time (1938) (uncredited) .... Singer
... aka Having a Wonderful Time- Picketing for Love (1938) .... Betty
- Twenty Girls and a Band (1938) .... Vocalist
- Stage Door (1937) (as Jane Rhodes) .... Ann Braddock
- The Life of the Party (1937) (as Betty Rhodes) .... Susan, the Singer
- Jungle Jim (1937) .... Joan Redmond/Mrs. Tom Redmond
- The Arizona Raiders (1936) (as Jane Rhodes) .... Lenta Lindsay
... aka Bad Men of Arizona (USA: reissue title)- Forgotten Faces (1936/I) (as Jane Rhodes) .... Sally McBride
Soundtrack - filmography
(1940s) (1930s)
- Sweater Girl (1942) (performer: "I Said No")
- The Fleet's In (1942) (performer: "The Fleet's In")
- They Met in Argentina (1941) (performer: "North America Meets South America")
- Along the Rio Grande (1941) (performer: "Old Monterey Moon", "Along the Rio Grande")
- Having Wonderful Time (1938) (performer: "My First Impression of You" (1938), "Nighty Night" (1938))
... aka Having a Wonderful Time- The Life of the Party (1937) (performer: "Chirp a Little Ditty")
- Hollywood Party (1937) (performer: "South Sea Island Magic" (1936))
Self - filmography
(1940s) (1930s)
- Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) (as Betty Rhodes) .... Herself - Swing Shift Skit
- Hollywood Party (1937) .... Herself
Biography for
Betty Jane RhodesMini biography
This swinging singer from WWII was born on April 14, 1921 in Rockford, Illionois to non-professionals. A gorgeous, fresh-faced, blue-eyed blonde doll blessed with a natural vocal talent, Betty Jane Rhodes was initially discovered on radio and was recording by age 8. Her promising contralto helped her to earn a contract at age 15 with Paramount and immediately made her debut in Forgotten Faces (1936/I) initially billing herself as Jane Rhodes. She played Marsha Hunt's kid sister in her second film The Arizona Raiders (1936) in which she sang "My Melancholy Baby". Still a teenager, she played the femme lead in the Universal serial Jungle Jim (1937) opposite Grant Withers's rugged hero. She went on to warble again in such lively film fare as The Life of the Party (1937), Having Wonderful Time (1938), Oh Johnny, How You Can Love (1940) and even in the Tim Holt western Along the Rio Grande (1941).
Having been borrowed frequently by other studios, Paramount paid more attention to her by setting her up with the minor wartime musical Sweater Girl (1942), in which introduced the classic "I Don't Want to Walk Without You", and also giving her leads in Salute for Three (1943) opposite Macdonald Carey and You Can't Ration Love (1944). Her film career faded fast after this and she later recorded for RCA and Decca Records, making hits out of such songs as "Rumors Are Flying" and "Buttons and Bows". Married to the late Willet H. Brown, the broadcasting pioneer and co-founder of the Mutual Broadcasting System, the company that ran her own program "Adventures in Rhythm," she was initially dubbed the "First Lady of Television". In the 60s she continued performing in clubs and cabarets. Retired for some time, her husband died in 1993 and left her quite wealthy. She has one child, a daughter named Kim Blake Brown. Her stepson Michael J. Brown followed in his father's footsteps with Brown Broadcasting.IMDb mini-biography by
Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
Spouse
Brown, Willet H.
(1945 - 1993) (his death)
Trivia
She introduced the Jule Styne/Frank Loesser classic "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" which turned out to be one of her biggest hits, but it was still overshadowed by the Helen Forrest version.
