Biography Betta St. John

Discovered by Rodgers and Hammerstein, actress/singer/dancer Betta St. John played a small role in the 1945 Broadway musical Carousel. Four years later, St. John created the character of Liat in R&H's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical hit South Pacific. She followed the production to London, where she would remain for the better part of the 1950s. In films, St. John was cast in exotically regal roles in such films as Dream Wife (1953), The Robe (1953) and The Student Prince (1954). As her film career drew to close, Betta St. John was seen as a "Jane substitute" in a pair of Tarzan features starring Gordon Scott.