Bette Ford (born Harriet Elizabeth Dingeldein; June 24, 1927) is an American actress, model and professional bullfighter. She was the first American woman to fight on foot in the Plaza México, the world's largest bullfight arena.[Muriel Feiner, Women in the Bullring (Gainesville, University Press of Florida), 2003; ]
Personal life
Born as Harriet Elizabeth Dingeldein in McKeesport, Pennsylvania in 1927, she and her brother were raised by relatives after being abandoned, first by their mother and then later by their father. Shortly after moving to New York at the age of 18, she married another actor, David Ford, whose name she would keep, although the marriage ended after nine months. She later married John Meston (July 30, 1914 – March 24, 1979) an
United States radio and
television writer best known for co-creating (with Norman Macdonnell), the long-running radio/TV series,
Gunsmoke. Ford's third and current husband is Scott Wolkoff (born May 27, 1947), some two decades her junior.
Early modelling and acting career
After graduating from high school in 1945, she began her career as a model and actress in New York, where her modelling credits included stints as The Jantzen Bathing Suit Girl, The Camay Bride and The Parliament Cigarette Girl, and her acting credits included appearances as a regular on
The Jackie Gleason Show and
The Jimmy Durante Show.
Bullfighting career
While on a modelling photo shoot in Bogotá, Colombia, Ford was introduced to the renowned matador Luis Miguel Dominguín and watched him fight in the ring. Soon after, Ford left New York for Mexico to train as a bullfighter. In 1954,
Warner Bros made a
Short film about her training,
Beauty and the Bull.
[ "Beauty and the Bull", imdb.com; accessed April 27, 2016.]
Ford's historic debut at the Plaza México was followed by several years of fighting as a figura (bullfighting celebrity) in Mexico and the Philippines. The studio MGM, which had offered her an acting contract before she left New York to become a bullfighter, planned a full-length feature film based on her life story, and sent several writers, among them John Meston, the co-creator of Gunsmoke, to meet with Ford and discuss a screenplay. Ford married Meston shortly after they met and then retired as a bullfighter.
Post-bullfighting acting career
Ford has appeared in feature films including the Clint-Eastwood-directed
Sudden Impact and
Honkytonk Man, and television series including
Cheers,
L.A. Law,
Melrose Place, and
Felicity.
Her voice can be heard in
The Animatrix, the companion animated DVD of the film trilogy
The Matrix, and numerous commercials.
[ "Model, actress and McKeesport graduate puts on a cape to fight the bulls in Mexico", post-gazette.com; accessed April 27, 2016.]
Selected filmography
-
Beauty and the Bull (1954, Short) .... Bette Ford
-
Death Valley Days (1968, TV Series) .... Millie
-
Emergency! (1977, TV Series) .... Juen Edwards
-
James at 15 (1977, TV Series) .... Mrs. Droste
-
Honkytonk Man (1982) .... Lulu
-
Falcon Crest (1983, TV Series) .... Prison Guard
-
Sudden Impact (1983) .... Leah
-
Emerald Point N.A.S. (1984, TV Series) .... Mrs. Randolph
-
St. Elsewhere (1984, TV Series) .... Pat Kroll
-
Cheers (1984, TV Series) .... Irene Blanchard
-
Crazy Like a Fox (1985, TV Series)
-
Hotel (1985, TV Series) .... Mrs. Fielding
-
Crime Story (1987, TV Series) .... Angie / Bartender
-
A Year in the Life (1987, TV Series) .... Jackie
-
L.A. Law (1987-1988, TV Series) .... Rusty Farrell
-
Major Dad (1989, TV Series) ... Mom
-
Hunter (1990, TV Series) ... Anna Scarlatti
-
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990, TV Series) ... Madame Chatchka
-
Marked for Death (1990) .... Kate Hatcher
-
(1991) .... DeDe Ball
-
The Commish (1992, TV Series) .... Irene Wallerstein
-
The Wonder Years (1992, TV Series) ... Aunt Muriel
-
Melrose Place (1993, TV Series) .... Mrs. Wilson
-
Tales from the Crypt (1994, TV Series) .... Mrs. Peterson
-
Season of Change (1994) .... Granny Upton
-
Thunder Alley (1995, TV Series) .... Wanda
-
Party of Five (1995, TV Series) .... Miss Corso
-
It Was Him or Us (1995, TV Movie) .... Maggie Shepard
-
A Face to Die For (1996, TV Movie) .... Mrs. Berman
-
Nash Bridges (1996, TV Series)
-
Promised Land .... (1997, TV Series) .... Marie Jasper
-
A River Made to Drown In (1997) .... Lady with Whip
-
The Landlady (1998) .... Justine Welch
-
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998, TV Series) .... Marge Ryecart
-
My Engagement Party (1998) .... Estelle Salsburg
-
Providence (1999, TV Series) .... Hildy
-
ER (2001, TV Series) .... Princess Taffeta
-
Felicity (2001, TV Series) .... Professor May
-
The Division (2002, TV Series) .... Mrs. Sanders
-
Final Flight of the Osiris (2003, Short) .... Old Woman (English version, voice)
-
The Animatrix (2003) .... Old Woman (segment "Final Flight of the Osiris") (voice)
-
Valley of the Sun (2011) .... Bunny McGill
See also
-
Patricia McCormick (1927–2013), American woman professional bullfighter
-
List of female bullfighters
Notes
External links
