page_title: Betty Hutton
section_title: Life after Hollywood
hierarchical_section_title: Betty Hutton / Life after Hollywood
caption_attribution_description: Betty Hutton visits chow halls with sailors and Marines in the Marshall Islands. Peering over the screen star's shoulder is Virginia Carrol, dancer with the Hutton troupe. ID: HD-SN-99-02415. National Archive# 080-G-294122 WAR &amp; CONFLICT #: 756.
context_page_description: Betty Hutton
  was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer.
context_section_description: After the 1967 death of her mother in a house fire and the collapse of her last marriage, Hutton's depression and pill addictions escalated. She divorced her fourth husband, jazz trumpeter Pete Candoli, when she discovered he'd fallen in love with Edie Adams (who would become Candoli's second wife).  She declared bankruptcy the same year.
  After losing her singing voice in 1970, Hutton had a nervous breakdown and later attempted suicide. She regained control of her life through rehabilitation, and the mentorship of a Roman Catholic priest, Father Peter Maguire. Hutton converted to Roman Catholicism, and took a job as a cook at a rectory in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. She made national headlines when it was revealed she was practically penniless and working in a rectory. After an aborted comeback in 1974, she was hospitalized with emotional exhaustion. Later that year, a well-publicized "Love-In for Betty Hutton" was held at New York City's Riverboat Restaurant, emceed by comedian Joey Adams, with several old Hollywood pals on hand. The event raised $10,000 for Hutton and gave her spirits a big boost, but steady work still eluded her.
  Hutton appeared in an interview with Mike Douglas and a brief guest appearance in 1975 on Baretta. In 1977, Hutton was featured on The Phil Donahue Show. Hutton was then happily employed as hostess at a Newport, Rhode Island, jai alai arena.
  She also appeared on Good Morning America, which led to a 1978 televised reunion with her two daughters. Hutton began living in a shared home with her divorced daughter and grandchildren in California, but returned to the East Coast for a three-week return to the stage.
caption: With American sailors and marines in the Marshall Islands in December 1944
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