Back in the 70’s while propping up a barre at The Royal Ballet School, a young Elizabeth Norma Ginger Diamond was ‘spotted’ by an agent from New York city. It wasn’t long before Miss Diamond at 6 years old was performing as a Hollywood blonde in the National Tour of Gypsy. In her recent unauthorised biography, she was quoted; ‘My old biography said, I played Dainty June, and that’s a lie, my mother put it in there she thought it sounded better early on in my career’  

After gaining oodles of experience and changing her name to Betty (Elizabeth Norma Ginger became too much of a mouthful !!)  she starred in her first Broadway show ‘Annie’ in which she received a Tony Award nomination – for her role as Sandy. She continued to play the ‘great white way’ for the next ten years, including ‘Liesl’ in the Sound of Music, and ‘Julie Jordan’ in Carousel. Next – Paris... The Follies Bergere. As a can-can dancer Betty quickly fell into the Parisian way of life, excelling in the apache (for those that don’t know, that means dancing in a bar with bottles, chairs and inebriated young men !)  ‘Even in those days there was no competing, Betty could always throw her legs up higher than the chorus girls….. and wider’ stated Liliane Montevecchi, to which Betty replied ‘I was never in the chorus !!!’  

On her 19th birthday, Betty, now known as ‘Legs’ moved back to England where the bright lights of London’s Theatre land were calling. Here she appeared in many musicals, including, ‘On your toes’ ‘42nd Street’ ‘A Chorus Line’ (Laurence Olivier nomination) ‘La Cage aux Folles’ ‘Cats’ ‘My Fair Lady’ ‘Les Miserables’ ‘Chess’ and ‘Anything Goes’ – to name but a few. One of the greatest shows was ‘Stairway to the Stars’ and The London Palladium, where Betty was privileged to work with such Hollywood legends as, Kathryn Grayson, Gloria DeHaven, Dolorus Grey, Georges Guetary, Van Johnson, Dorothy Lamour, Virginia O’Brien and the incomparable Jane Russell.  

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