by Saskia Raevouri

I MET BETTY LASKY in 2002 while doing research for a book about the author Harold M. Sherman. Known mostly for his self-help books, Sherman also co-wrote the screenplay for The Adventures of Mark Twain, produced by Jesse L. Lasky for Warner Bros. In 1941, while working on the project and living in Hollywood, Sherman often visited the Lasky home and became friendly with Lasky’s talented wife, Bessie Lasky, with whom he shared a mutual interest in metaphysics.

Seeking a picture of Bessie Lasky for my book, I began by contacting the Hollywood Heritage Museum, hoping someone there would lead me to Betty, the daughter Sherman had mentioned in letters to his wife. It took only two days to find her. Betty remembered Harold Sherman well and invited me to her home to select a photo of her mother.

Although Betty lived in the affluent 90049 zip code, any visions I had of a Hollywood heiress dwelling in a mansion were quickly dispelled when she welcomed me into her modest little apartment on Bellagio Road beneath the Getty Center in Los Angeles. During our visit I learned that Betty was surviving on a tiny fixed income. She was revising her father’s 1957 memoir and needed funding to continue her work until she was contracted by a publisher.

At 80, Betty was one one of the few remaining figures with firsthand knowledge of the early days of Hollywood and I found her to be truly devoted to the mission of setting her father’s record straight. Realizing the historical significance of the project and what a treasure Betty was, I committed myself there and then to helping her in any way possible—from doing research on the Internet to digitizing her typewritten text and finding a way to get her financial support.

Betty then showed me a 12-page typewritten letter describing her book proposal that her attorney friend Ken Denton had been sending to potential donors. "Betty," I said, "nobody is going to wade through all these pages! You need to add pictures and jazz it up!" Experienced in Photoshop and Pagemaker, I offered to do this for her. That was the beginning of our friendship.

The next time I visited I brought my laptop and scanner. Together we went through her photos and relevant documents and planned a 12-page "presentation." I designed and produced it, printed and bound about 30 copies, and Ken mailed them out to the same people who had been approached earlier. This time we had a positive response! Not only did Betty receive increased donations but she also was awarded a large grant from one of the Hollywood historical societies! Click here to see the Presentation.

After that, until I moved away from Los Angeles in 2004, I saw Betty often. I loved hearing her stories of old Hollywood. I took her to her favorite places for lunch, such as Canter's Deli or the Farmer's Market, and once she gave me a grand tour of the old rich-and-famous neighborhood where she grew up, with fascinating anecdotes about almost every house within radius. Whenever possible I attended events at the Barn with her. It turned out that we had a mutual interest in spirituality and metaphysics, and had many discussions about the purpose of life and the afterlife.

Together we created the first versions of this official website of her father's work, Jesse-L-Lasky.com. Betty supplied all the images and information and I put it together (now revised to be mobile friendly). She spent a vast amount of time doublechecking the accuracy of the filmography, and via her dear friend Mark Penn through the years emailed me additions for the site. It was truly a labor of love for both of us, a golden opportunity to preserve the legacy of one of the great founders of Hollywood.

After I left Los Angeles we spoke often on the phone and stayed in touch with email via Mark. I would always make a point of seeing Betty during my return visits. Sadly, ill-health forced her to abandon the revision of her father's memoir. In recent years she was quite frail, and I would bring her take-out food to share in her apartment or some groceries from Whole Foods supermarket. I spent a few days with Betty after a hospital stay in 2015, and was one of a small crew of friends who attempted to get her into a care facility towards the end. However, Betty was having none of it and passed away in her home maintaining her independence to the end, on January 7, 2017.

I sure miss my friend, Betty Lasky!