Bettye McCartt was an American producer and talent manager who first started as a publicist for Century Fox. She later formed her own talent agency, McCartt, Oreck & Barrett talent agency; and has managed A-list actors such as George Clooney, Tom Selleck, and Billy D. Williams.
More to how she gained fame, Bettye was associated with the production of blockbusters like The Godfather (1972) and The Longest Yard (1974). Following a successful career in the entertainment industry, McCartt died of heart failure in Santa Barbara at the age of 81 on August 16, 2013.
Who is Bettye McCartt?
Born in 1932, Bettye McCartt was raised in Oklahoma, a State in the South Central region of the United States.
Her family and many other details about her life before fame are not known but there is a certainty that she moved to Los Angeles to build a career and family.
Bettye McCartt’s Long-span Career as a Talent Manager
Moving to Los Angeles with her children, she decided to work as a publicist. Bettye first started working for 20th Century Fox before she moved on to become Albert S. Ruddy’s secretary.
She worked with Ruddy throughout the making of The Godfather. Later on, she went on to work on the production of Burt Reynold’s 1974 film The Longest Yard.
Her working relationship with Ruddy was explored in the Paramount+ series The Offer. The movie is about the making of the classic film The Godfather, which is a book adaptation of the same title. While most of the characters in the movie are actual people, McCartt’s isn’t entirely true. Her character was played by Juno Temple.
The drama mini-series about the making of The Godfather further buttress McCartt’s relevance in the production. Other people featured in the series are Miles Teller as Al Ruddy and Matthew Goode as Robert Evans.
With such much experience in the entertainment industry, McCartt went on to co-found a talent agency. It was named McCartt, Oreck & Barrett Talent Agency.
The Agency boasted of having many famous actors like George Clooney, Maureen O’Hara, Anthony Quinn, Wilford Brimley, and Brian Austin Green. Also, they managed other people including authors Louis L’Amour and Henry Miller.
According to reports, the talent manager became the manager and talent manager of actor Tom Selleck in 1975. They continued to work together and even became good friends later on. When Selleck signed with CAA in 2008, she still worked with him as his manager.
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Bettye McCartt’s Husband and Children
Although it is still uncertain if Bettye was ever married, it has been reported that she had two children: Shannon Alton and Mark Breeding. Also, details about her love life are still under wraps but it is known that she had her children even before she started her career as a publicist.
Even though her children have been living on a low-key, there are speculations that her daughter, Shannon Alton took after her as she now works as an agent and also runs a location company. The company offers the most exquisite filming locations in California.
Mark Breeding also works in the entertainment industry. He has received credits for a couple of movies including Memorial Day (1999) and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (2000).
Is Bettye McCartt Alive?
On August 16, 2013, Bettye McCartt passed away at the age of 81 after a long illness. Reports say she had heart failure which resulted in her death. The manager died in Santa Barbara in the presence of her loved ones.
Often described as a woman with class, Bettye was described as a great mentor to quite a number of people in her field.
Bettye McCartt had a successful career as a talent manager as well as a publicist. She has received credits for working with quite a number of celebrities who have been equally successful on their own. While details about her family are still under wraps, her work in entertainment made her stand out, especially due to the fact that she choose a career path that was mainly male dominated during her time. She would always be remembered as one of the greatest publicists of the 1970s.
