![]() She still appeared occasionally on the larger screen but, for the most part, was either unbilled or the pictures themselves were obscure. Betty instead focused on 50s TV and also returned to the stage with a production of "The Moon Is Blue" (1954). After appearing again in pictures starring Clifton Webb and Bette Davis ( Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) and Payment on Demand (1951), respectively), her blossoming film career lost major ground. She continued the momentum, all in a same airy vein, as the bobby-soxer daughter of stars Loretta Young in Mother Is a Freshman (1949) and Fred MacMurray and Maureen O'Hara in Father Was a Fullback (1949). After another minor part in Apartment for Peggy (1948), she earned a featured part playing kid sister to Barbara Bates in June Bride (1948) starring Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery. Betty made her movie debut in a small, sprightly role in the classic Clifton Webb comedy Sitting Pretty (1948). In the late 1940s, after being "discovered" in the short-lived Broadway production of "Park Avenue," the fresh-faced Betty was signed on as a starlet for Twentieth Century Fox and appeared in several of their popular movies, billed herself briefly as "Betty Ann Lynn" before abruptly dropping her middle name from the credits. ![]() She even entertained the troops with her light soprano at USO tent shows towards the end of World War II. Betty came from a musical background as the daughter of a singer and began her career as a young teen performing in both supper clubs and on Broadway in such musical productions as "Walk with Music" (1940) and "Oklahoma!," the latter as a dancing replacement. While Betty enjoyed other entertainment outlets such as film and the stage, it is her "Thelma Lou" character that remains indelibly etched in the minds of all her fans. It took a second reunion decades later to finally get those two characters married. She is pleasantly remembered for playing TV's sweet-as-apple-pie "Thelma Lou," who had the tough end of the bargain as the ever-patient girlfriend of Don Knotts's neurotic "Barney Fife" character on The Andy Griffith Show (1960). Her name is as light, breezy and innocent as the characters she played on film and TV. She truly was 95yrs young,” he wrote.Missouri born-and-bred Betty Ann Lynn was born in Kansas City. It was great to have known and worked with her. I saw her last a few years ago where she still lit up the room with her positivity. She played Thelma Lou on #TAGS & brightened every scene she was in & every shooting day she was on set. ![]() She moved to New York in the late 1940s and began an acting career in film and television.ĭirector Ron Howard, who became a star as Opie on the “The Andy Griffith Show,” paid his respects to Lynn on Twitter on Sunday. Lynn provided entertainment as a part of the USO during World War II. Later, she was a mainstay at the annual Mayberry Days festival in Mount Airy, North Carolina, where she resided in her later years. ![]() She also appeared in several films, including “Mother Is a Freshman,” “Father Was a Fullback,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Payment on Demand,” and “June Bride.” Lynn appeared on the popular TV show from 1961 until 1966. The Andy Griffith Museum said in a statement that she died Saturday after a “brief illness.” (AP) - Betty Lynn, who was best known as Barney Fife's sweetheart Thelma Lou on “The Andy Griffith Show,” has died at the age of 95. ![]()
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