starring

BARBARA BEL GEDDES

Daughter of painter and set designer NORMAN BEL GEDDES, she was born in NEW YORK CITY on October 31, 1922. Her mother was related to author BARRY ULANOV and inculcated in her daughter her own love for literature and theatre.

"When I was 16 years old, my daddy got a summer job for me which led me to my first performance on BROADWAY, in 1941: comedy OUT OF THE FRYING PAN (later adapted to big-screen as YOUNG AND WILLING, directed by E.H.Griffith). Its success called the attention of the HOLLYWOOD producers, who gave me the chance to debut in movies in 1942, with a film entitled GUEST IN THE HOUSE (J. Brahm), which did not make it, so I decided to go back to stage”.

When USA went into war, the young actress travelled around military barracks where she not only recited but also sang and danced, and her acts were so enjoyed that soldiers nicknamed her Miss Junior. On April 1948, she appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine and, later, ELIA KAZAN directed her on the stage comedy DEEP ARE THE ROOTS, which aroused the admiration of the N.Y.C. critics.

So she came back to movies, under contract with RKO. “After 2 years and 4 films, the company´s mogul HOWARD HUGUES fired me because I still wasn´t sexy enough... ” This failure brought her back to theatre, where she pursued a long successful career, including 1955´s CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, for whose performance of the role ELIZABETH TAYLOR would do in its screen adaptation, Barbara was nominated for that year´s TONY, won by JULIE HARRIS. Years before, in 1948, she had received an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress for the movie I REMEMBER MAMA (G. Stevens).

“My greatest hit (and second TONY nomination) was playing JEAN KERR´s MARY, MARY with BARRY NELSON.” Though FIVE BRANDED WOMEN (M. Ritt) is one of her last movies, she considers it as her most outstanding big-screen performance, even better than her part in Hitchcock ´s VERTIGO.

She also gueststarred on several episodes of the director´s TV series, among them the classic A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER. In 1944 she married electricity engineer CARL SCHREUER and gave birth to her first-born SUSAN. The marriage ended in 1951, but she re-married that same year, this time with writer WINDSOR LEWIS and, two years later, another daughter was born, BETSY. “In 1966, my career was interrupted by a personal tragedy: WINDSOR had cancer and I wanted to stand by him until his death in 1972. His long illness left me broke and I took the part of ELLIE because I was a poor old woman.”

For her performance in her first and last TV series, BARBARA got the EMMY in 1980 and, later on, two GOLDEN GLOBES in a row. In March 1983, she was submitted to heart surgery at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Given her serious condition, the doctors realized a quadruple coronary by-pass. Due to her early return to the DALLAS set, she faint and had to leave the show until Season 85-6, when she asked for her part back, played by DONNA REED during her absence.

BARBARA BEL GEDDES died of lung cancer on August 8, 2005. In her free time, BARBARA BEL GEDDES drew illustrations for children´s books and enjoyed her three granddaughters and her quiet MAINE farm. “When I left DALLAS, not long before its ending, I wanted to be free and do very little acting, which I couldn´t do in all my life. I have worked enough...”

We will miss BARBARA.

CAREER:
Movies:

Television:

A TRIBUTE TO BARBARA BEL GEDDES

JIM DAVIS