Betta St. John – a famed actress in Hollywood’s Golden Age of cinema who starred on Broadway, the West End, and in multiple Blockbuster films – has died aged 93.
The American actress’ son, TV producer Roger Grant, told The Hollywood Reporter that St. John passed on June 23 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Brighton, England.
Born Betty Jean Striegler in California, St. John made her acting debut at the young age of 10 alongside Marlene Dietrich in 1939’s Destry Rides Again.
St. John’s breakout role –and one that she previously stated was her “first grown-up” acting part – was in Dream Wife in 1953. In this romantic comedy, St. John played Tarji, a Middle Eastern princess engaged to Cary Grant’s character, businessman Clemson Reade.
St. John also starred with Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth and Robert Taylor in All the Brothers Were Valiant that same year, and in 1954 she appeared on-screen with Victor Mature, Piper Laurie and Vincent Price in the 3-D adventure Dangerous Mission.
Though, it was her roles in two Tarzan movies that skyrocketed her to notoriety. In 1957, St. John played one of the survivors of an airline crash who is chased by a crocodile in Tarzan and the Lost Safari. This flick was the first Tarzan film in 15 years and made history at the time as the first one in color, per People.
St. John then returned for Tarzan the Magnificent in 1960. Both movies starred Gordon Scott as the King of the Jungle.
However, St. John eventually retired from acting in the early 1960s to focus on her family. “I thought my career was long enough, and I didn’t feel I was giving up very much at that point,” she later said, via People. “But I gave it up mainly because I wanted to stay home and raise the children, and my family was much more important to me.”
She added: “Very few actors, even if they’re extremely successful, can keep a family and marriage together, with a good career going, too. By that time, I had come to terms that I didn’t have the kind of acting ability that would keep on going forever.”
St. John had wed British actor-singer Peter Grant from 1952 until his death in 1992. The pair lived in London for many years, making several movies there, including horror films like Corridors of Blood (1958) and Horror Hotel (1960). Both movies saw St. John acting alongside veteran actor Christopher Lee, who was best known for his roles as Samuran the White in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies.
In 2008, St. John recalled to Record Gazette: “My last film, Horror Hotel, was sort of an embarrassment because I didn’t like horror movies. But I’m glad I did it because, apparently, it’s a cult film and very good in its way.”
St. John was inducted into the Hawthorne Hall of Fame in 2019, and her final years were spent living in the UK.
She’s survived by her son Roger, daughters Karen and Deanna, and her grandchildren, Kristen, Matt, Drew and Michael.
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