Trivia
Betty Grable’s legs were insured by her studio for $1,000,000 (one million dollars) per leg at Lloyds of London.
Hugh Hefner, PlayboyPlayboy empire founder, has said that Betty Grable was his inspiration for founding the
Grable’s famous bathing suit photo became the number one pin-up picture during World War II. Later, it was included as one of the 100 Photos That Changed The World.
Hosiery specialists have noted the ideal proportions of her legs: thigh(18.5”), calf (12”) and ankle (7.5”)
Her distant heritage includes: Dutch, Irish, German, and English.
Betty Grable placed in the top ten box office draws for ten years.
Betty Grable was 5′4.
She wore a size 5A shoe.
Grable was voted Best Figure in 1941.
Betty Grable’s measurements are: 34 1/2-24-36 (self-described in 1940); 36-24-35 (time of her famous World War II pin-up poster); 36-23-35 (at a fitting in 1958).
She is one of the original Goldwyn Girls, others include Lucille Ball, and Paulette Goddard.
She was a sleep-walker.
She suffered from demophobia: a fear of crowds.
Actor Vinton Haworth was her uncle.
Her 2 1/2 year relationship with George Raft ended because he couldn’t get a divorce from his Catholic wife.
Neil Sedaka wrote a song in her memory titled “Betty Grable.”
After her husband spent all her savings, Betty Grable did Playtex 18 hr shortie commercials in the 1960’s using her famous pin-up pose.
Her ex-husband, Henry James, died on what would be their 40th anniversary.
She dated Desi Arnaz.
In 1946-1947 the Treasury Department noted that Betty Grable was the highest paid woman in America, earning $300,000 a year.
Rosetta Calavetta and Dhia Cristiani dubbed most of her films in Italy.
In the biopic The George Raft Story (1961), Betty Grable was portrayed by Jayne Mansfield however, due to the fact that Grable wasn’t public domain, her character was given the alias “Lisa.”
She holds the record for continuous years on the top box office draw list.
At one time Betty was receiving 12,000 fan letters per week.
Some of Betty Grable’s nicknames include:
“The Pin-Up Girl”, “The Girl With the Million Dollar Legs” and “The Queen of Technicolor.”
