Betty Garrett dies at 91

American actress and comedienne Betty Garrett has passed away at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 91, her son Garrett Parks has announced.

The singer and dancer, who is best known for playing Frank Sinatra's love interest in MGM classics Take Me Out to the Ballgame and On the Town, died from a suspected aortic aneurysm.

Because of her and her husband Larry Parks' previous ties with the Communist Party, her film career was cut short as she was blacklisted, but she went on to appear on Broadway and a number of television shows.

Speaking earlier about the incident, she said: "It was a dark period, a foolish, foolish period. It destroyed a lot of lives and ruined my husband's career."

Her television roles were in shows including Archie Bunker, All in the Family, Laverne & Shirley, Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls, Harts of the West, Union Square, Boston Public, Grey's Anatomy and Becker.