Betty Furness

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Elizabeth Mary Furness January 3 1916 April 2 1994 was an American actress consumer advocate and current affairs commentator She began her professional career as a model before being noticed by a talent scout and being signed to a film contract in 1932 by RKO Studios Her first film role was as the Thirteenth Woman in the film Thirteen Women 1932 but her scenes were deleted before the films release Over the next few years she appeared in several RKO films and became a popular actress Among her film successes were Magnificent Obsession 1935 and the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Swing Time 1936 By the end of the decade she had appeared in over forty films but during the 1940s she found it difficult to secure acting roles In 1948 Furness was performing in the television series Studio One which was broadcast live She filled in for an actor to promote Westinghouse products during the advertisement break and impressed the company with her easy and professional manner They offered her a contract to promote their products and she thus became closely associated with them