Barbara Billingsley (December 22, 1915 – October 16, 2010) was an American film, television, voice, and stage actress who appearead as Mindy's fellowi nmate in jail, Louise Bailey, in Season 4's Cheerleaders in Chains.
Biography[]
Billingsley was born Barbara Lillian Combes on December 22, 1915, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lillian Agnes (née McLaughlin) and Robert Collyer Combes, a police officer. She had one elder sibling, Elizabeth. Her parents divorced before her fourth birthday, and her father, who later became an assistant chief of police, remarried. After the divorce, Billingsley's mother began working as a foreman at a knitting mill. At High School she was voted prom queen.[1]
After attending Los Angeles Junior College for one year, Billingsley dropped out, aged 19, and traveled to Broadway, when Straw Hat, a revue in which she was appearing, attracted enough attention to send it to New York City. When the show closed after five days, she took an apartment on 57th Street and went to work as a $60-a-week fashion model.[2]
In 1941, she married Glenn Billingsley Sr. a restaurateur and a nephew of Sherman Billingsley, owner of the Stork Club. His businesses included Billingsley's Golden Bull, Billingsley's Bocage, the Outrigger Polynesian restaurants in Los Angeles, and a Stork Club in Key West, Florida, where they lived briefly after their wedding. She landed a contract with MGM Studios in 1945, and moved with her husband to Los Angeles in 1946. That same year, Glenn Billingsley opened a steakhouse there. They had two sons and divorced in 1947.[2]
In 1953 she married British-born movie director Roy Kellino. They were married until Kellino's death in 1956. Billingsley's third and final marriage was to William S. Mortensen in 1959; a Santa Monica physician and widower, who was an old friend of Barbara and Roy's during their marriage they remained together until his death in 1981.[1]
She followed Ronald Reagan's career after they co-starred in a stage play, long before he ran for governor or president. Was a staunch Republican who gave much of her time and money to various conservative political causes. She attended several Republican National Conventions, galas and fund-raisers. She was active in the campaigns of Wendell Willkie, Thomas E. Dewey, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush.[2]
Her son Glenn Jr. married Karen Zappas in 1976, and they are still together. They're parents of 3, Barbara's grandchildren, Logan Billingsley, Morgan Billingsley and Taylor Billingsley. Her granddaughter, Taylor, wanted to follow in her grandmother's footsteps of becoming an actress but her parents wouldn't allow her to begin as a child actress.
A member of the Unity Church, her hobbies included gardening, dining, watching movies, listening to radio, tennis, drinking wine, spending time with her family, sewing and traveling, she regularly played poker with Rod Serling's family before his death.
Billingsley died of polymyalgia at her home in Santa Monica, California, on October 16, 2010, at the age of 94. She is interred at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica.
Career[]
She had mostly uncredited roles in major movies in the 1940s with supporting roles in the early 50s in movies like Three Guys Named Mike (1951), opposite Jane Wyman; The Bad and the Beautiful (1952); and the science-fiction film Invaders from Mars (1953). In 1952, Billingsley had her first role as a guest star in an episode of The Abbott and Costello Show.
In 1955, she won a costarring role in the sitcom Professional Father, starring Stephen Dunne and Beverly Washburn. It lasted one season. The next year, Billingsley had a recurring role in The Brothers (with Gale Gordon and Bob Sweeney) and an appearance with David Niven in his anthology series Four Star Playhouse. In 1957, she costarred with Dean Stockwell and Natalie Trundy in The Careless Years, her first and only major role in a film.[1]
Billingsley had guest roles in The Pride of the Family, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Letter to Loretta, You Are There, and Cavalcade of America. She appeared on Make Room for Daddy on January 14, 1957 in the episode "Danny's Date", where she played Mary Rogers.
After Billingsley signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1957, she made her mark on TV as June Cleaver in the sitcom Leave It to Beaver. It debuted on CBS in 1957 to mediocre ratings. It was picked up by ABC the following year and became a hit, airing for the next five seasons, and broadcast in over 100 countries, and a role which, years later, prompted Oprah Winfrey to say that Billingsley was her childhood television heroine.[1][2]
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | So You Think You're Allergic | Blonde with Hives |
| 1945 | Adventure | Dame #2 |
| 1946 | Up Goes Maisie | Barb's Friend at Maisie's Engagement Party |
| 1946 | Two Sisters from Boston | Party Guest |
| 1946 | Faithful in My Fashion | Mary - Department Store Clerk |
| 1946 | Three Wise Fools | Sister Mary Leonard |
| 1946 | Undercurrent | Party Guest |
| 1946 | The Secret Heart | Saleswoman |
| 1947 | The Arnelo Affair | Weil |
| 1947 | The Sea of Grass | Bridesmaid |
| 1947 | Living in a Big Way | G.I. Bill's Wife |
| 1947 | The Romance of Rosy Ridge | Wife |
| 1947 | The Unfinished Dance | Miss Morgan |
| 1948 | The Argyle Secrets | Elizabeth Court |
| 1948 | Souvenirs of Death | Johnny's Mom |
| 1948 | The Saxon Charm | Mrs. Maddox |
| 1948 | The Valiant Hombre | Linda Mason |
| 1948 | Act of Violence | Voice role |
| 1949 | The Sun Comes Up | Nurse |
| 1949 | Caught | Store Customer in Flowered Hat |
| 1949 | I Cheated the Law | Ruth Campbell |
| 1949 | Any Number Can Play | Gambler |
| 1949 | Air Hostess | Madeline Moore |
| 1949 | Prejudice | Doris Green |
| 1949 | A Kiss for Corliss | Miss Hibbs, Harry's Secretary |
| 1950 | Shadow on the Wall | Olga |
| 1950 | Trial Without Jury | Rheta Mulford |
| 1950 | Pretty Baby | Edna the Receptionist |
| 1950 | Dial 1119 | Dorothy, Editor's Secretary |
| 1951 | Three Guys Named Mike | Ann White |
| 1951 | Inside Straight | Miss Meadson |
| 1951 | Oh! Susanna | Mrs. Lark |
| 1951 | The Tall Target | Young Mother |
| 1951 | Angels in the Outfield | Hat Check Girl in Restaurant |
| 1951 | Two-Dollar Bettor | Miss Pierson |
| 1952 | Invitation | Miss Alvy - Simon's Secretary |
| 1952 | Young Man with Ideas | Aggie - Party Guest |
| 1952 | Woman in the Dark | Evelyn Courtney |
| 1952 | The Bad and the Beautiful | Evelyn Lucien, Costume Designer |
| 1953 | The Lady Wants Mink | Phyllis |
| 1953 | Invaders from Mars | Kelston's Secretary |
| 1954 | Day of Triumph | Claudia - Wife of Pilate |
| 1957 | The Careless Years | Helen Meredith |
| 1980 | Airplane! | Jive Lady |
| 1987 | Back to the Beach | Announcer |
| 1988 | Going to the Chapel | Unidentified role |
| 1997 | Leave It to Beaver | Aunt Martha |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Rebound | 2 episodes | Pat |
| 1953 | The Abbott and Costello Show | Television | Becky the Cashier |
| 1953 | Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson | Half the Action | |
| 1953 | The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse | When a Lovely Woman | |
| 1953–54 | City Detective | 2 episodes | Lita
Barbara Fuller |
| 1953–55 | Four Star Playhouse | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1953–55 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | 6 episodes | Various roles |
| 1953–57 | Cavalcade of America | 2 episodes | Dorothea Meadows
Harriet Kohler |
| 1954 | The Pride of the Family | Albie's Old Flame | |
| 1954 | The Lone Wolf | The Long Beach Story (a.k.a. The Smuggling Story) | Jean Arnold |
| 1954 | Fireside Theater | The Whole Truth | |
| 1955 | Professional Father | 18 episodes | Helen Wilson |
| 1955 | You Are There | Eli Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin (May 27, 1793) | Catherine Green |
| 1956 | Matinee Theater | Summer Cannot Last | |
| 1956 | The Loretta Young Show | Tightwad Millionaire | Connie |
| 1956 | General Electric Summer Originals | Jungle Trap | |
| 1956 | The Ford Television Theatre | Catch at Straws | Mrs. Sloan |
| 1956–57 | The Brothers | 5 episodes | Barbara |
| 1957 | Panic! | The Subway | Mrs. Mason |
| 1957 | Mr. Adams and Eve | That Magazine | Liz Blake |
| 1957 | Studio 57 | It's a Small World | June Cleaver |
| 1957–63 | Leave It to Beaver | 234 episodes | June Cleaver |
| 1971 | The F.B.I. | 2 episodes | Joan Connor
Mrs. Rankin |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy | Cheerleader in Chains | Louise Bailey |
| 1983-87 | The Love Boat | He Ain't Heavy
Who Killed Maxwell Thorn? |
Phyllis Cowens
June Cleaver |
| 1983–89 | The New Leave It to Beaver | 101 episodes | June Cleaver |
| 1984 | Elvira's Movie Macabre | The Human Duplicators | June Cleaver |
| 1984 | Silver Spoons | I Won't Dance | Miss Bugden |
| 1984–91 | Muppet Babies | 107 episodes | Nanny (Voice) |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | Remote Control Man | June Cleaver |
| 1987 | The New Mike Hammer | Who Killed Sister Lorna? | Sister Superior Paula |
| 1988 | Baby Boom | Guilt | June Cleaver |
| 1989 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Invasion of the Turtle Snatchers | Mirahda (Voice) |
| 1989 | Monsters | Reaper | |
| 1991 | Parker Lewis Can't Lose | Jerry: Portrait of a Video Junkie | Ms. Musso's Mother |
| 1991 | Hi Honey, I'm Home! | Make My Bed | June Cleaver |
| 1991 | Empty Nest | My Nurse Is Back and There's Gonna Be Trouble... | Winifred McConnell |
| 1993–94 | The Mommies | 2 episodes | Caryl's mother
Jeanne - Marilyn's Mom |
| 1994 | Murphy Brown | Crime Story | Mrs. Stritch |
| 1995 | Roseanne | All About Rosey Part 2 | Herself - June Cleaver, TV Mom #1 |
| 2000 | Mysterious Ways | Handshake | Abby Westmore |
| Year | TV Movie | Role | |
| 1983 | Still the Beaver | June Cleaver | |
| 1983 | High School U.S.A. | Mrs. McCarthy | |
| 1987 | Bay Coven | Beatrice Gower | |
| 2003 | Secret Santa | Miss Ruthie | |
Mork & Mindy[]
While the role of June Cleaver often left her typecast, and (though it wasn't supposed to be) it was mentioned during her appearance as Louise Bailey in Season 4's Cheerleaders in Chains, but here it took a twist. Louise, very much a kindly June Cleaver type lady proves to be Mindy's fellow inmate in prison when Mindy is incarcerated for refusing to name her journalistic sources in a Construction Scandal. Consoling to a bewildered and scared Mindy, she helps her to relax, and comiserates with her about the unfairness of someone like Mindy being there. Something that prompts Mindy to wonder why someone as nice as Louise is there. The tale of Louise's coolly calculating murder of her perennially snoring husband, snapping after 30 years, leaving Mindy well and truly freaked out.