CineScope
Beverly Tyler picture

Beverly Tyler

Acting
Known For

78 Years Old

This relatively obscure, sweet-faced "B" level ingénue of the post-war 40s and 50s was born Beverly Jean Saul of modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on July 5, 1927. Her mother was a secretary who secured piano and music lessons for her young daughter. Her father was employed with a typewriter company. As a teenager Beverly made her singing debut on radio. Moving to Hollywood with her mother, she was groomed by MGM at the ripe old age of 14 and made her first picture with a bit part in The Youngest Profession (1943) using her real name. She was given the more attractive marquee name of "Beverly Tyler" before the ink had barely dried on her contract. Her career showed some signs of improvement after appearing opposite Tom Drake in The Green Years (1946) and Peter Lawford in the lightweight comedy My Brother Talks to Horses (1947), but then she was forced to wait out a lull. Strangely enough, other than for a brief singing bit in Best Foot Forward (1943), Beverly was never promoted in musicals by MGM, or any other studio for that matter -- although she did test once for the Kathryn Grayson part in That Midnight Kiss (1949) starring Mario Lanza. She did, however, appear in the short-lived Kurt Weill musical "The Firebrand of Florence" on Broadway in 1945, and performed in the musical "Miss Liberty" in Los Angeles in 1950. Beverly also sang on TV on such variety shows as "Cavalcade of Stars" and "Shower of Stars." She returned to the camera after a three-year absence in 1950 with Mickey Rooney in The Fireball (1950), and in another horse film, Hills of the Brave (1950). Most of the roles offered had her playing an altruistic love interest amid rugged surroundings in such western adventures as The Battle at Apache Pass (1952) and The Cimarron Kid (1952). She made only a handful of films over the course of her career, which effectively ended once Voodoo Island (1957) and Hong Kong Confidential (1958) were in the can. A serviceable co-star, little attempt was made by the Hollywood powers-that-be to effectively challenge her multiple talents. Although she dated the likes of Tom Drake, Peter Lawford, Audie Murphy, Mickey Rooney and Rory Calhoun, this lovely sparrow did not settle down in marriage until 1962 when she wed comedy writer/director Jim Jordan, Jr. ("The Colgate Comedy Hour"), who was the son of the famous "Fibber McGee & Molly" radio couple. Beverly instantly retired from the business and together the couple produced a son. The only performing she has done over the years was to appear in a few local theater productions in Reno, Nevada, having moved there in 1972. Her husband later became a developer. Beverly died at age 78 of a pulmonary embolism on November 23, 2005, and was survived by her son, James W. Jordan, and three step-daughters.

Born

Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA on 5th July 1927

Died

23rd November 2005

All Credits

The Andy Griffith Show Image
The Andy Griffith Show
Gladys "Melissa" Stevens
Bonanza Image
Bonanza
Mary
No Image
The Silver Theatre
The Bigelow Theatre Image
The Bigelow Theatre
Bathing Beauty Image
Bathing Beauty
Co-Ed (uncredited)
Voodoo Island Image
Voodoo Island
Sarah Adams
The Battle at Apache Pass Image
The Battle at Apache Pass
Mary Keerney
Best Foot Forward Image
Best Foot Forward
Vocalist
The Green Years Image
The Green Years
Alison Keith as a young lady
The Cimarron Kid Image
The Cimarron Kid
Carrie Roberts
The Beginning or the End Image
The Beginning or the End
Anne Cochran
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone Image
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone
Della Cooper
Night Without Sleep Image
Night Without Sleep
Singer (Uncredited)
Chicago Confidential Image
Chicago Confidential
Sylvia Clarkson
The Fireball Image
The Fireball
Mary Reeves
The Youngest Profession Image
The Youngest Profession
Thyra Winter
The Palomino Image
The Palomino
Maria Guevara
Hong Kong Confidential Image
Hong Kong Confidential
Fay Wells
My Brother Talks to Horses Image
My Brother Talks to Horses
Martha Sterling