Person Details

Birthday: 1919-09-26 00:07:45

Death: 1980-01-17 00:07:45

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Long Beach, California, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 31

TV Involvements: 1


Most Famous Work

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Barbara Britton (born Barbara Maurine Brantingham, September 26, 1919 – January 17, 1980) was an American film and television actress. 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. 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. (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.") 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. 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 advertisements 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.

Most Famous Work

Lux Video Theatre
Average
6

Lux Video Theatre

(1950) Hilda
Reap the Wild Wind
Average
7

Reap the Wild Wind

(1942) Charleston Lady #1
Gunfighters
Average
6

Gunfighters

(1947) Bess Banner
I Shot Jesse James
Average
6

I Shot Jesse James

(1949) Cynthy Waters
So Proudly We Hail
Average
5

So Proudly We Hail

(1943) Lt. Rosemary Larson
Albuquerque
Average
7

Albuquerque

(1948) Letty Tayler
The Virginian
Average
6

The Virginian

(1946) Molly Wood
The Spoilers
Average
5

The Spoilers

(1955) Helen Chester

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2015 Laura Petrie (archive footage)
1961 Laura Petrie
1955 N/A
Helen Chester
Wanda
Pat Beaton
1954 N/A
Donna Cottrell
1952 Lottie Priest
Elizabeth Ainsworth
N/A
Alice Hayward
1951 Pamela
1950 Zarra Montalvo, alias Lola Belmont
Hilda
Gwenn Bottomley
N/A
1949 N/A
Cynthy Waters
Anita Weatherby
1948 Mary Evans
Cherry Lucas
Betty Denton
Letty Tayler
1947 Bess Banner
1946 Angela Picard
Suzanne
Molly Wood
June Reynolds
1945 Lady Anne Dunstan
Kathy Harkness
1944 Sister Clothilde aka Louise Dupree
Ruth
1943 Lt. Rosemary Larson
Grace
Marge Benson Dennison
N/A
1942 Lucy Olcott
Sally Cameron
Charleston Lady #1
Eileen Wright
1941 Louisiana Belle
Jennifer Kendall
Year Character Movie/Tv

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