Betty Cole-Graham Papers

Betty Louise Cole Tooker Graham was born in 1929 in Chico, California to Norma Estelle (Long) and George Golden Cole. The family soon relocated to Sacramento, California. Betty became enchanted with musical theater and began on her path to a career in the field after seeing the Wizard of Oz as a child. She took ballet, tap, and voice lessons while in high school, and graduated from C. K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento in 1947.

In 1949, Betty relocated to San Francisco and continued dance lessons at the San Francisco Ballet School and Mason-­Kahn Tap Studios. Working days as a secretary, she also studied voice and acting and enjoyed an occasional modeling gig. In 1951 she joined the Straw Hat Theatre Company in Berkeley, one of the few theatre companies at that time paying a living wage. Their musical-­comedy revues played in San Francisco and Marin County, and in 1953 their show toured New England. She continued her studies in New York until she was due to start rehearsals for the next show. She never did that show, but instead met Warner Tooker from San Francisco at Edelweiss Ski Resort; they were married in 1954 and lived in South Lake Tahoe for 16 years while raising two daughters.

Bringing culture and the arts to the small mountain community, Betty founded a community theatre, and later a children's theatre, to what would total a 16-­year run of 26 shows, beginning with Gay 90s Gaieties in 1957. Other notable shows included Guys and Dolls, The Cat and the Canary, The Torchbearers, Box of Smiles, Aladdin, Land of the Dragon, Snow White, Call Me Madam, The Wizard of Oz, South Pacific, Peter Pan, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She also learned to play acoustic guitar and formed a folk group called "The Untrapped Housewives" that later became "The Chimney Corner Singers." They performed regularly throughout the area at ski lodges, political rallies, conventions, and special events.

In 1973, Betty and Warner divorced and Betty remarried Lew Graham. They settled in Santa Rosa, California in 1977. She performed in local theatre there. Notable stage credits include: No, No Nanette; Mame; The Lion in Winter; Gypsy; and Dames at Sea.

In 1995 Betty and Lew fulfilled a top bucket list item and traveled to Paris, France. After Lew passed in 2002, Betty remained in Santa Rosa and continued to perform in local theatre and singing gigs, and she wrote several musical revues: Kurt Weill's Cabaret, Cole Porter's People, and The Ragtime Years. She wrote and performed in a one-­woman show based on the songs of World War II: Sentimental Journey, and another one about movie music: Mad About The Movies. She also coached and inspired many young actors, dancers, and singers and occasionally appeared in local TV commercials and independent films.

In 2007, Betty began working on a new show based on the music of Johnny Mercer, but was unable to complete it. She suffered a major stroke and her daughters moved her to Reno, Nevada to support her rehabilitation and to be closer to her family. Despite the post-­stroke challenges, she continued to enjoy gardening, photography, her cat Smokey, playing the piano, travel, San Francisco, and being with her beloved family and friends.

Betty passed away in Reno, Nevada on November 28, 2015.

[Biographical note taken from Betty Cole Graham's obituary as published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune and The Sacramento Bee.]