Barbara Britton

Barbara Britton

  • Birthday: 1919-09-26
  • Deathday: 1980-01-17
  • Place of birth: Long Beach, California, USA
  • Also know as: Barbara Maurine Brantingham

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.

Filmography

The Bandit Queen

1950

As Zarra Montalvo, alias Lola Belmont

The Fabulous Suzanne

1946

As Suzanne

I Shot Jesse James

1949

As Cynthy Waters

Albuquerque

1948

As Letty Tayler

They Made Me a Killer

1946

As June Reynolds

Gunfighters

1947

As Bess Banner

Till We Meet Again

1944

As Sister Clothilde aka Louise Dupree

Dragonfly Squadron

1954

As Donna Cottrell

Mr. Reckless

1948

As Betty Denton

Night Freight

1955

As Wanda

The Untamed Breed

1948

As Cherry Lucas

Bwana Devil

1952

As Alice Hayward

The Return of Monte Cristo

1946

As Angela Picard

Loaded Pistols

1948

As Mary Evans

Captain Kidd

1945

As Lady Anne Dunstan

Cover Up

1949

As Anita Weatherby

The Great John L.

1945

As Kathy Harkness

The Raiders

1952

As Elizabeth Ainsworth

The Virginian

1946

As Molly Wood

Champagne for Caesar

1950

As Gwenn Bottomley

Secret of the Wastelands

1941

As Jennifer Kendall

So Proudly We Hail

1943

As Lt. Rosemary Larson

Ride the Man Down

1952

As Lottie Priest

The Spoilers

1955

As Helen Chester

Young and Willing

1943

As Marge Benson Dennison

Ain't Misbehavin'

1955

As Pat Beaton

The Fleet's In

1942

As Eileen Wright

Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration

2015

As Laura Petrie (archive footage)

Caroline?

1990

As Hilary

Wake Island

1942

As Sally Cameron (uncredited)

Louisiana Purchase

1941

As Louisiana Belle

Reap the Wild Wind

1942

As Charleston Lady #1

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