Betty Byrd is one cat that has truly lived nine lives. The first life was that of a jock, where Betty found herself excelling as a competitive swimmer, field hockey player and cheerleader. Through college, she began to realize that her creativity was too strong to ignore. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in Creative Writing and Theater, Betty packed up her cowgirl life and headed to Ohio to pursue graduate work at Ohio State University. She put her degree to use quickly when she landed jobs as an editor for The Spectator, Ohio’s largest weekly newspaper, and freelancing for a national men’s magazine. After having some success as a writer, Betty yearned for another creative outlet, that of a performing artist. Blond locks in tow, she left her mid-west roots for Southern California. Hollywood took a liking to the spunky blond actress whose resume includes a role on the television series Gunsmoke, as well as featured roles in numerous films, mini-series, and commercials. She is a voting member of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
In 2002-2003, and 2007-2008 Betty was accepted into the Who’s Who of America and Who’s Who of American Women. She was also honored as a local author by the San Diego Public Library for her first novel, Trinity’s Daughter.
Most of the photos below were taken by Betty.
Mark Twain Once Said: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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It All Began With My Pet Deer Sandy. . .My Hemingwayesque Adventures Have Included: photographing and swimming with manta rays, eels, sea turtles, sharks, and sea urchins in the turquoise waters of Bora Bora, Tahiti and Hawaii.
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| Betty And Local Tahitian Dancer. |
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| Shark Dive Off The Coast Of Southern California |
My Alaska Adventures:
Hopping A Helicopter To A Glacier In Alaska
To Ride An Iditarod Dogsled Team.
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| Iditarod Camp | Betty Petting Iditarod Dog |
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| Iditarod Dog On Top Of His Doghouse On The Glacier | Iditarod Musher Preparing For The Big Race |
| Betty Holding A King Crab In Sitka, Alaska. |  |
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Catching A Pink Salmon In The Northern Pacific. |
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| Landing At The Dock After Fishing. |
My Hollywood Years
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Party In Hollywood.
Shaking Hands With Hillary Clinton.
| Me and Sergeant Preston Dawson City, Yukon. Later Downed A Sour Toe Cocktail In A Bar In The Yukon With Sergeant Preston. |  |
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Golfing In Scotland At St. Andrews And Getting Out Of Hell’s Bunker. |
Betty And Friends At The Acropolis
Me In Turkey.
Also Walked Down The Pearly White Streets Of Ancient Ephesus In Turkey.
The Bayou In Louisana.
Louisana Bayou Alligator.
Me At The Myan Ruins In Ixtapa, Mexico.
Feeding A Bengal Tiger Cub.
Me With Zandra Rhodes, Larry Hagman And Friends.
700 Year Old Spanish Fortress.
Bougainvillea In Marbella, Spain.
The Road To Tangier.
Beggar In Morocco.
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| Snake Charmer. | Riding A Dromedary (Camel) In Tangier, Morocco. |
Innertubing In Lake Tahoe.
Me And Papa Hemingway In Madame Toussad’s Wax Museum In NYC.
Survived A Hijacking - 1970 – With A 357 Magnum Pointed At Her Head.
More Hemingwayesque Adventures Include. . .
Interviewing and writing about a cowboy that rode with outlaw Pancho Villa.
A UFO sighting while lying on her trampoline.
Neighbors such as, Joe Bonano and Stan Kenton
Driving through a locust and tarantula invasion in Arizona
Playing tennis with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
Watching a scorpion the size of a man’s fist crawl across her living room
Visiting Pompeii, Italy and the volcano that destroyed it
Taking a night trip to Kilauea Volcano in the Hawaiian Volcano National Park on the big island of Hawaii and watching the lava spew into the ocean
Getting lost in the Grand Bizarre in Istanbul
Dying of “Sudden Death Syndrome” and returning to life 
