Mary Beth Hughes; Movie Actress, Nightclub Performer

Mary Beth Hughes, 75, actress who appeared in more than two dozen films in a 25-year career. She began performing in repertory theater while still in high school and broke into films with MGM in 1938. She moved to Fox in 1940, playing leads in low-budget films such as “Charlie Chan in Rio” and “The Cowboy and the Blonde,” often playing the hardened blond gun moll. She also appeared in “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1943) and “Young Man With a Horn” (1950). After her film career ended, she developed a nightclub act, playing electric bass and singing. She said club patrons would sometimes ask “if I were the mother of the actress Mary Beth Hughes. At first I would become angry, then I realized it was a compliment.” On Aug. 27 in Los Angeles.