BARBARA BATES ,AMERICAN SINGER / ACTRESS 1925 AUGUST 6 - 1969 MARCH 18

 

BARBARA  BATES ,AMERICAN SINGER / 

ACTRESS  1925 AUGUST 6 - 1969 MARCH 18

Barbara Jane Bates (August 6, 1925 – March 18, 1969) was an American singer and actress, best known for her portrayal of Phoebe in the 1950 drama film All About Eve. and as Katy Morgan on It's a Great Life (1954-1956).

Early life[edit]

The eldest of three daughters, Bates was born in Denver, Colorado.^[1] While growing up in Denver, she studied ballet and worked as a teen fashion model. The shy teen was persuaded to enter a local beauty contest and won, receiving two round-trip train tickets to Hollywood, California. Two days before returning to Denver, Bates met Cecil Coan, a United Artists publicist, who she would later marry.^[2]

Career[edit]

In September 1944, 19 year old Bates signed a contract with Universal Pictures after Cecil Coan introduced her to producer Walter Wanger. Soon after, she was cast as one of the "Seven Salome Girls" in the 1945 drama, Salome Where She Danced starring Yvonne De Carlo. Around this time, she fell in love with Coan, who was married with two sons and two daughters. In March 1945, Coan divorced his wife Helen Coan and secretly married Bates, on March 25, 1945 in Chihuahua, México.^[3][4] Bates spent the next few years as a stock actress, landing bit parts in movies and doing cheesecake layouts for magazines like Yank, the Army Weekly and Life. It was one of those photo sessions that caught the eye of executives at Warner Bros. who signed her in 1947. Warner Bros. highlighted her "girl-next-door" image and her acting career took off. She appeared with some of the biggest stars of the day including Bette Davis in June Bride and Danny Kaye in The Inspector General.^[2]

In 1949, Bates's contract with Warner Bros. was terminated when she refused to go to New York City to promote The Inspector General. Despite being fired by Warner Brothers, she signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox later that year.^[2][5]

In late 1949, Bates auditioned for the small role of Phoebe in Fox's upcoming All About Eve. In competition for the part was Zsa Zsa Gabor and others, but Bates impressed the producers and was given the part. She made a short but important appearance as the devious schemer, Phoebe, at the end of the film. Bates's image is enshrined in the film's last scene, posing in front of a three-way mirror, while holding the award won by her idol Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter. This memorable final scene left critics and audiences intrigued by the young actress, who they thought would star in a sequel to All About Eve.^[6] The Hollywood Reporter said of her performance, "Barbara Bates comes on the screen in the last few moments to more or less sum up the whole action and point of the story. It's odd that a bit should count for so much, and in the hands of Miss Bates all the required points are fulfilled."^[7]

After her appearance in All About Eve, Bates co-starred in Cheaper by the Dozen, and its sequel Belles on Their Toes, with Jeanne Crain and Myrna Loy.^[8] In 1951, she landed a role opposite MacDonald Carey and Claudette Colbert in the comedy Let's Make It Legal. Fox refused to loan out Bates for the role of the suicidal ballerina saved by Charlie Chaplin's aging vaudevillian in Limelight (1952).^[9][10] She co-starred with Donna Reed as the love interests of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the 1953 hit comedy The Caddy.

Decline[edit]

Despite a seemingly successful career, Bates' life, both on and off screen, started unravelling. She became a victim of extreme mood swings, insecurity, ill health, and chronic depression. In 1954, she won the role of Cathy on the NBC sitcom It's a Great Life, co-starring Frances Bavier as her mother, Amy Morgan, and James Dunn as her uncle, Earl Morgan.^[11] After 26 episodes, she was written out of the show due to her erratic behavior, depression and instability. Bates tried to salvage her career and traveled to England to find work. She was signed on as a contract player with the Rank Organisation, only to be replaced in two leading roles before filming began. Bates continued to be too emotionally unstable to work and in 1957, her contract with the Rank Organisation was cancelled.^[2]

Upon returning to the United States in 1957, Bates and her husband got an apartment in Beverly Hills. Later that year, Bates made her last film, Apache Territory, which was released in September 1958. She then appeared in two television commercials, one for floor wax and another endorsing a now unknown product with Buster Keaton.^[12] In 1960, Bates's husband Cecil Coan was diagnosed with cancer. Bates put her career on hold to care for her ailing husband. The strain eventually became too much for her. She attempted suicide by slashing her wrists and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital where she soon recovered.^[2] She made her final onscreen appearance in an episode of The Saint that aired in November 1962.^[13]

Later years and death[edit]

In January 1967, Bates's husband Cecil Coan died of cancer. Devastated by his death, Bates's depression worsened and she again became suicidal. Later that year, she returned to Denver and fell out of public view. For a time, Bates worked as a secretary, as a dental assistant, and as a hospital aide. In December 1968 she married for the second time: to a childhood friend, sportscaster William Reed. Despite her new marriage and location, Bates remained increasingly despondent and depressed.^[2]

On March 18, 1969, just months after her marriage to Reed, Barbara Bates committed suicide in her mother's garage by carbon monoxide poisoning. She was 43 years old.^[14] She is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Jefferson County, Colorado.^[15]

Filmography[edit]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1945	Strange Holiday	Peggy Lee Stevenson	Alternative titles: Terror on Main Street The Day After Tomorrow
1945	Salome Where She Danced	Salome girl	Uncredited
1945	Lady on a Train	Hat Check Girl	Uncredited
1945	This Love of Ours	Mrs. Dailey	Uncredited
1945	The Crimson Canary	Girl	Uncredited
1946	Night in Paradise	Palace Maiden	Uncredited
1947	The Fabulous Joe	Debbie Terkel
1947	The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival	Debbie Terkle, in Fabulous Joe
1947	Always Together	Ticket Seller	Uncredited
1948	April Showers	Secretary	Uncredited
1948	Romance on the High Seas	Stewardess	Uncredited Alternative title: It's Magic
1948	Johnny Belinda	Gracie Anderson	Uncredited
1948	June Bride	Jeanne Brinker
1948	Adventures of Don Juan		Uncredited Alternative title: The New Adventures of Don Juan
1949	One Last Fling	June Payton
1949	The House Across the Street	Beth Roberts
1949	The Inspector General	Leza
1950	Quicksand	Helen Calder
1950	Cheaper by the Dozen	Ernestine Gilbreth
1950	All About Eve	Phoebe
1951	I'd Climb the Highest Mountain	Jenny Brock
1951	The Secret of Convict Lake	Barbara Purcell
1951	Let's Make It Legal	Barbara Denham
1952	Belles on Their Toes	Ernestine Gilbreth
1952	The Outcasts of Poker Flat	Piney Wilson
1953	All Ashore	Jane Stanton
1953	The Caddy	Lisa Anthony
1954	Rhapsody	Effie Cahill
1956	House of Secrets	Judy Anderson	Alternative title: Triple Deception
1957	Town on Trial	Elizabeth Fenner
1958	Apache Territory	Jennifer Fair

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953	The Revlon Mirror Theater		Episode: "Summer Dance"
1954–1955	It's a Great Life	Cathy "Katy" Morgan	26 episodes
1955	The Millionaire	Marian Curtis	Episode: "The Uncle Robby Story"
1955	Studio 57	Elaine Hilton	Episode: "Night Tune"
1962	The Saint	Helen Ravenna	Episode: "The Loaded Tourist"

BARBARA EVEREST BRITISH ACTRESS BORN 1890 JUNE 19 - 1968 FEBRUARY 9

 

BARBARA EVEREST BRITISH ACTRESS BORN 

1890 JUNE 19 - 1968 FEBRUARY 9

Barbara Everest (19 June 1890 – 9 February 1968) was a British stage and film actress.[1][2] She was born in Southfields, Surrey, and made her screen debut in the 1916 film The Man Without a Soul.[1] On stage she played Queen Anne in the 1935 historical play Viceroy Sarah by Norman Ginsbury.

Selected filmography

A two-story beige brick house with pointed roof topped by several chimneys with pots and a wooden bay window on the front at ground level. In front is a brick wall. There is a circular blue plaque on the left side of the house near the second storey

Everest's London house near Kew Gardens, with blue plaque

Born	June 9, 1883 in Wandsworth, Surrey, England, UK
Died	February 9, 1968 in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, UK  (undisclosed)
Birth Name	Barbara Mary Everest
Height	5' 6½" (1.69 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Barbara Everest was born on June 9, 1883 in Wandsworth, Surrey, England as Barbara Mary Everest. She was an actress, known for Gaslight (1944), The Phantom Fiend (1932) and The Uninvited (1944). She died on February 9, 1968 in Wimbledon, Surrey.

Trivia (1)

Kindly-looking British character actress with lengthy stage experience. Often seen in maternal roles.

The Hypocrites (1916) – Helen Plugenet

The Man without a Soul (1916) – Elaine Ferrier

Whosoever Shall Offend (1919) – Maddalena

Not Guilty (1919) – Hetty Challis

The Lady Clare (1919) – Alice

Calvary (1920) – Rachel Penryn

The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol (1920) – Anne

Testimony (1920) – Lucinda

The Bigamist (1921) – Blanche Maitland

A Romance of Old Baghdad (1922) – Mrs. Jocelyn

The Persistent Lovers (1922) – Joyce

Fox Farm (1922) – Kate Falconer

Lily Christine (1932) – Hempel

When London Sleeps (1932) – Madame Lamberti

The Lodger (1932) – Mrs. Bunting

There Goes the Bride (1932) – Mme. Marquand (uncredited)

The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) – Mrs. Brophy

The Roof (1933) – Mrs. Foster

She Was Only a Village Maiden (1933) – Agatha

The Lost Chord (1933) – Mother Superior

The Umbrella (1933) – Mrs. Wynne

Love's Old Sweet Song (1933) – Nurse

Home Sweet Home (1933)

The River Wolves (1934)

The Warren Case (1934) – (uncredited)

Passing Shadows (1934) – Mrs. Lawrence

Song at Eventide (1934)

The Lad (1935) – Mrs. Lorraine

Regal Cavalcade (1935) – Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited)

The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1935) – Cook

Scrooge (1935) – Mrs. Cratchit

Love in Exile (1936) – Anna

Men of Yesterday (1936)

The Man Behind the Mask (1936) – Lady Slade

Jump for Glory (1937) – Mrs. Nolan

Old Mother Riley (1937) – Mrs. Briggs

Death Croons the Blues (1937)

Trunk Crime (1939) – Ursula

Discoveries (1939) – Mrs. Venters

Inquest (1939) – Mrs. Wyatt

Meet Maxwell Archer (1940) – Miss Duke

The Second Mr. Bush (1940) – Mrs. Windel-Tod

The Prime Minister (1941) – Baroness Lehzen (uncredited)

This Man Is Dangerous (1941) – Mrs. Cardby

He Found a Star (1941) – Mrs. Cavour

Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) – Mrs. Olav

Forever and a Day (1943) – Girl's Mother in Air Raid Shelter

Mission to Moscow (1943) – Mrs. Litvinov

Phantom of the Opera (1943) – Aunt

Jane Eyre (1943) – Lady Ingraham

The Uninvited (1944) – Lizzie Flynn

Gaslight (1944) – Elizabeth

The Valley of Decision (1945) – Delia

The Fatal Witness (1945) – Lady Elizabeth Ferguson / Vera Cavanaugh

Wanted for Murder (1946) – Mrs. Colebrooke

Frieda (1947) – Mrs Dawson

Children of Chance (1949) – Francesca

Madeleine (1950) – Mrs. Smith

Tony Draws a Horse (1950) – Mrs. Parsons

An Inspector Calls (1954) – committee member

The Safecracker (1958) – Mrs. Dawson

Upstairs and Downstairs (1959) – 2nd Old Lady

El Cid (1961) – Mother Superior

Dangerous Afternoon (1961) – Mrs. Judson

The Damned (1963) – Miss Lamont

Nurse on Wheels (1963) – Nurse Merrick

The Man Who Finally Died (1963) – Martha Gelman

Rotten to the Core (1965) – Mrs. Dick

Trouble with Junia (1967) – Ada

Franchette: Les Intrigues (1969) – (final film role)

BARBARA LAWRENCE,AMERICAN ACTRESS DIED NOVEMBER 13,2013

BARBARA LAWRENCE,AMERICAN ACTRESS 

DIED NOVEMBER 13,2013

Barbara Jo Lawrence (February 24, 1930 – November 13, 2013) was an American model, actress, and real estate agent.

Early years[edit source]
Born to Morris Lawrence and Berniece (or Bernice) Eaton Lawrence in Carnegie, Oklahoma,[3] Barbara Jo moved with her mother to Kansas City, Missouri as an adolescent.

Career[edit source]
Lawrence's career began as a child photographer's model. She appeared in her first film, Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe (1945), as a night-club patron. A year later, she made a strong impression in her second film at 20th Century-Fox, Margie, in which she played outgoing flapper Maryville.

She was featured in the swashbuckler Captain from Castile (1947) with Tyrone Power. While finishing her studies at UCLA,[4] she attracted the attention of talent scouts, and Lawrence was soon featured in a number of additional 20th Century-Fox movies, including You Were Meant for Me, Give My Regards to Broadway, A Letter to Three Wives, The Street with No Name, and Thieves' Highway. At Universal in the early 1950s were Peggy and Here Come the Nelsons.[citation needed] She also was one of the stars of Columbia's romantic comedy, Paris Model, in 1953.

Upon moving to MGM, Lawrence appeared with Gig Young in the 3D movie Arena (1953) and in Her Twelve Men with Greer Garson. She played the role of Gertie Cummings in the film version of Oklahoma!, in which she gets into a knockdown catfight with Gloria Grahame ("Ado Annie"). In 1957, she starred in Kronos with Jeff Morrow. Although the science-fiction film was not praised by critics at the time, it eventually attracted a cult following for its imaginative storyline and special effects.

Between 1958 and 1962, Lawrence made four guest appearances on Perry Mason. In 1958, she played Ellen Waring in "The Half-Wakened Wife" and Gloria Barton in "The Case of the Jilted Jockey." In 1961, she played a murderess in "The Case of the Envious Editor", and in 1962, she played Agnes Theilman in "The Case of the Shapely Shadow".[citation needed]

Marriages[edit source]
In January 1947, she married John Forrest Fontaine, an actor known professionally as Jeffrey Stone. This was kept secret until June 28, 1947, when Lawrence's mother threw her daughter a church wedding in Beverly Hills,[3] but the marriage ended with a divorce granted on September 28, 1949.[5]

In 1951, she wed Johnny Murphy; the couple had two children before divorcing in 1957. After marrying Lester R. Nelson in 1961, she had two more children. She made several more television appearances in 1962, then retired from acting altogether. She and Nelson divorced in 1976.[1]

Recognition[edit source]

Lawrence has a star at 1735 Vine Street in the Television section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.[6]

Death[edit source]
Barbara Lawrence died of kidney failure on November 13, 2013, aged 83, in Los Angeles, California, but her death was not reported until January 3, 2014

Selected filmography[edit source]
Diamond Horseshoe (1945)
Margie (1946)
Captain from Castile (1947)
Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
Give My Regards to Broadway (1948)
The Street with No Name (1948)
A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Thieves' Highway (1949)
Peggy (1950)
You Were Meant for Me (1950)
The Star (1952)
Paris Model (1953)
Arena (1953)
Her Twelve Men (1954)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Kronos (1957)
jessie james vs the daltons

BARBARA BRITTON AMERICAN ACTRESS BORN 1919 SEPTEMBER 26

BARBARA BRITTON AMERICAN ACTRESS 

BORN 1919 SEPTEMBER 26

Barbara Britton (September 26, 1919 – January 17, 1980) was an American film and television actress.[2] She is best known for her western film roles opposite Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Gene Autry and for her two-year tenure as inquisitive amateur sleuth Pam North on the television and radio series Mr. and Mrs. North.[3]


Early life[edit]

Barbara Maurine Brantingham was born September 26, 1919, in Long Beach, California.[4] Her involvement with stage productions began when she was 14.[5] She attended Polytechnic High School and Long Beach City College,

majoring in speech with the intention of working as a speech and drama teacher. While in school she began to show an interest in acting and began working on local stage productions.[6]











Career[edit]

In 1941, while appearing in a Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, a photo of Britton was used on the front page of a local newspaper. A talent scout took notice, and she was soon signed to a Paramount Pictures contract.[6]

(Another source says that a talent scout spotted her as the lead in the production of The Old Maid at her college, and "three weeks later she was signed by Paramount Pictures as a stock player."[5])










Film[edit]

That same year, she appeared in her first two films: the William Boyd western Secrets of the Wasteland and Louisiana Purchase starring Bob Hope. Her first major film appearance was in a small role in the John Wayne film Reap the Wild Wind (1942).

During the 1940s Britton starred in three films for which she is most recognized today, two of which co-starred Randolph Scott. The first was the 1945 film Captain Kidd with Scott, followed by The Virginian in 1946 opposite Joel McCrea. The third was the 1947 Randolph Scott film Gunfighters. She teamed with Scott again in the 1948 western Albuquerque, and that same year she starred opposite Gene Autry in Loaded Pistols. In total, she starred or appeared in 26 films during that decade.

Television[edit]

Britton starred in the 1950s television show Mr. and Mrs. North, a Thin Man-like mystery show, with Richard Denning and Francis De Sales. She was probably best known for being the spokesperson for Revlon products in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in ads and commercials that included live spots on The $64,000 Question. She also portrayed Laura Petrie in Carl Reiner's Head of the Family, the 1959 pilot for the later Dick Van Dyke Show.

One of Britton's last roles was on the daytime television soap opera One Life to Live in 1979.

Magazines[edit]

Over a 24-month span, Britton's picture appeared on more than 100 magazine covers, including those of Ladies Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, and McCall's. In 1949, a newspaper article reported,

"Today, Barbara Britton's picture has appeared on more national magazine covers than any other motion picture actress in the world."[5]

Personal life[edit]

Reportedly, in 1944, Britton suffered from nervous exhaustion due to overwork and was advised to seek the help of physician and psychoanalyst Dr. Eugene J. Czukor.[4] Britton and Czukor, who was 22 years her senior, were married on April 2, 1945. At one time, the couple had a home on Victoria Drive in Laguna Beach, California.[4][7] They moved to New York City in 1957.[8] 

For many years Britton and her husband lived in a rambling, red shingled farmhouse in the Fairfield County town of Bethel, Connecticut. Later, following their love of antiques, they opened a shop in an early American barn in the antique-gallery enclave of Woodbury, Connecticut. They had two children, Ted and Christina, and their marriage lasted for 34 years until Britton's death.[8] She died of pancreatic cancer in New York City on January 17, 1980, at the age of 60.[8] Czukor later died in 1989.[9]

Honors and awards[edit]

In 1948, Britton was given a key to the City of Long Beach, California.[4] On February 8, 1960 she received a star for television on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; her star is located at 1719 Vine Street.[2]

Filmography[edit]
Films[edit]
Secrets of the Wasteland (1941)
Louisiana Purchase (1941)
The Fleet's In (1942)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Wake Island (1942)
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1942)
Freedom Comes High (1943)
Young and Willing (1943)
So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944)
Till We Meet Again (1944)
The Great John L. (1945)
Captain Kidd (1945)
The Virginian (1946)
They Made Me a Killer (1946)
The Fabulous Suzanne (1946)
The Return of Monte Cristo (1946)
Gunfighters (1947)
Albuquerque (1948)
Mr. Reckless (1948)
The Untamed Breed (1948)
Loaded Pistols (1948)
Cover Up (1949)
I Shot Jesse James (1949)
Champagne for Caesar (1950)
The Bandit Queen (1950)
Ride the Man Down (1952)
Bwana Devil (1952)
The Raiders (1952)
Dragonfly Squadron (1954)
Ain't Misbehavin' (1955)
Night Freight (1955)
The Spoilers (1955)[2]
Television series[edit]
Armstrong Circle Theatre (1950–1951)
Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (1951)
Lux Video Theatre (1951)
Lights Out (1951)
Cameo Theatre (1951)
Schlitz Playhouse (1952)
Mr. and Mrs. North (1952–1954)
Danger (1954)
Climax! (1955)
Appointment with Adventure (1955)
Robert Montgomery Presents (1950–1955)
The Christophers (1955)
The Ford Television Theatre (1955)
Head of the Family (Pilot for what would become The Dick Van Dyke Show) (1959)
The Comedy Spot (1960)
One Life to Live (1979–1980)[2]
Radio[edit]
Stars in the Air (1952) Episode: Weekend for Three[10]
Mr. and Mrs. North (1953-1955)