Betty Jane Rhodes was an American actress and singer, most active in film during the late 1930s and the World War II era. She was widely known to wartime movie audiences for her debut performance of the classic song, "I Don't Want To Walk Without You", in Sweater Girl in 1942. In 2012, Tom Vallance of The Independent wrote of Rhodes performance, "Her place in the history of popular song is secured by her having introduced on screen one of the great songs of wartime longing, "I Don't Want To Walk Without You." Rhodes later had her own weekly show on NBC during the 1950s, which aired on Saturday nights. Her appearances, as well as other early television roles, earned her the nickname, "The First Lady of Television." Rhodes also sang in cabaret until the 1960s. Rhodes was born in Rockford, Illinois, on April 21, 1921. She began her broadcasting career when she was just eight years old. Paramount Pictures signed her to her first film contract as an actress at the age of fifteen. She made her screen debut in the 1936 film, Forgotten Faces, in which she was credited as Jane Rhodes. 

April 21st, 1921 in Rockford  /  Died:   Dec 26th, 2011 - aged 90