Betty Hutton; Energetic Star of Film Musicals, Comedies

In 1944's "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek," which was directed by Preston Sturges, Miss Hutton played Trudy Kockenlocker, who is made pregnant by one of a group of soldiers but who is not sure which one it was.

In "The Perils of Pauline," which appeared in 1947 and gave a comic view of the making of silent movies, Miss Hutton gave an apt impersonation of Pearl White, who had starred in cliffhanger serials. Miss Hutton's histrionics more than matched the on-screen hazards faced by White.

In "The Greatest Show on Earth," directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille, Miss Hutton was a trapeze artist. During filming, she spurned a double and did her own aerial stunts. The movie won the Oscar for Best Picture. She also starred as Blossom Seeley, a singer, in "Somebody Loves Me." Both appeared in 1952.

Things started going wrong that year after the breakup with Paramount.

She made vaudeville and TV appearances, but further success was elusive. Stories began to surface about alcohol and pills. Her ample savings vanished. According to a 1986 article in the Toronto Star, she nearly died of a drug overdose in 1972 and was admitted to a mental hospital. There, she met a Catholic priest who, she said, saved her life. She left the hospital, and he got her a job.

In the 1980s, she began to teach acting at Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I., where, according to news accounts, she had received a degree.

"I'm happy and fulfilled," she told the Toronto Star. Later, she moved to Palm Springs.

Carl Bruno, described as the executor of her estate, told the AP from Palm Springs that he could neither confirm nor deny her death. "I'll be happy to talk about it [Tuesday] afternoon," he said.

Miss Hutton was married four times and had three children.