Betty Francisco

Betty Francisco (born Elizabeth Barton; September 26, 1900 – November 25, 1950) was an American silent-film actress, appearing primarily in supporting roles. Her sisters Evelyn and Margaret were also actresses.

Francisco was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. As a child, she acted in stock theater companies. When she was older, she became an artists' model.

Francisco is credited in more than 50 films from 1920 to 1934, after which it appears she retired from motion picture acting. Her first film credit was in the 1920 film A Broadway Cowboy.

Selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923, she nevertheless continued to be cast in secondary roles and rarely played the lead. She was often cast as the "other woman", as in Across the Continent (1922), Fair Play (1925), and The Spirit of Youth (1929). Her work included a wide range of genres; in 1923, for example, she was cast in the costume drama Ashes of Vengeance, the contemporary melodrama Flaming Youth, and the western Double Dealing. She is seen in the Harry Langdon comedy Long Pants (1927).

Her career continued into the sound era. She appears in some of the earliest movie musicals: Broadway (1929), Smiling Irish Eyes (1929), and Cecil B. DeMille's Madam Satan (1930). Her last film was Romance in the Rain (1934).

In 1930, Francisco married Fred Spradling, a stock broker.

She died at her Corona ranch on November 25, 1950, at 50 years old and was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California.[citation needed ]