Barbra Deane Fuller (July 31, 1921 – May 15, 2024) was an American actress.
Barbra Fuller | |
|---|---|
| Born | Barbara Deane Fuller July 31, 1921 Nahant, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | May 15, 2024 (aged 102) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1930s–1973 |
| Spouse | |
Career
editFuller signed a contract with Republic Pictures in 1949.[1] Her father Ralph Fuller died when she was three years old. She had worked in radio shows since the 1930s.[2] She appeared frequently in B-movies and television series in the 1950s. She changed her hair color frequently for film roles. Its hue varied from platinum to brunette in her four movies released by Republic Pictures in 1950. She returned to blonde as Laurel Vernon in Lonely Heart Bandits (1950).[3] Her first screen credit is for The Red Menace (1949). This was followed by roles in Flame of Youth (1949) and Crosswinds (1951). In The Red Menace she played "Mollie O'Flaherty", a character used by the Communist Party as bait. In City of Bad Men (1953), a Western adventure, she played a minor character. Afterward, she was mostly involved in television work. Her last parts as a movie actress came in How Sweet It Is! (1968) and The Roommates (1973).
Radio
editFuller acted in a number of soap operas.[4] She played Claudia in One Man's Family, winner of the prestigious Peabody Award[5] and arguably the first soap opera having begun in 1932 and running three decades.[6] She did her first radio work in Chicago between the ages of 9 and 11.[7] By age 18 she had appeared in 25 radio serials.[6] Fuller was heard in Whispering Streets, The Guiding Light, Ma Perkins, Today's Children,[4] Scattergood Baines, Madame Courageous, Road of Life, and Stepmother.[7]
Television
editFuller's television performances are numerous, beginning with a 1953 episode of Adventures of Superman. Other series in which she participated include Four Star Playhouse (1955–1956), Ford Television Theater (1957), Trackdown (1958), State Trooper (1958), Colgate Theatre (1958), My Three Sons (1960), Perry Mason (1960, 1964), and Daniel Boone (1970).
Personal life
editBarbara Deane Fuller was born in Nahant, Massachusetts, on July 31, 1921.[8][7] She married Western motion picture star Lash LaRue on February 23, 1951, in Yuma, Arizona. They had a godson, child actor J.P. Sloane[9] and later author, television commentator, and Dr. J.P. Sloane. The couple divorced on June 2, 1952.[10]
Fuller died on the morning of May 15, 2024, at the age of 102.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Republic Pact for Radio's Barbara Fuller". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. May 7, 1949. p. 14. Retrieved May 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Michael G.; Magers, Boyd (February 2, 2006). Ladies of the Western: Interviews with Fifty-One More Actresses from the Silent Era to the Television Westerns of the 1950s and 1960s. McFarland. pp. 51–57. ISBN 978-0786426560. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ Heyn, Howard C. (September 21, 1949). "Life in Hollywood". The Times. California, San Mateo, CA. p. 16. Retrieved May 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 245.
- ^ "One Man's Family, Volume 1". RadioArchives.com.
- ^ a b Parsons, Louella O. (May 7, 1949). "Picture Halts London Trip". The Galveston Daily News. Texas, Galveston. INS. p. 2. Retrieved May 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Grunwald, Edgar A., ed. (1940). Variety Radio Directory 1940-1941 (PDF). New York, New York: Variety, Inc. p. 940. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
- ^ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960, pg. 100, McFarland & Company, Inc.; ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2.
- ^ The Nashville Banner(US) June 1, 1991, pg. Front Page Sec B, by: Leon Alligood Senior Staff Writer, "Special 'Uncles' Provide Star-studded Childhood
- ^ "Wife, 26, Divorces Movie Cowboy". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. United Press. June 3, 1952. p. 40. Retrieved May 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (May 18, 2024). "Barbra Fuller, Star of Republic Pictures and 'One Man's Family' on the Radio, Dies at 102". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
Sources
edit- "Broadway Comedienne Joins Hope Picture". Los Angeles Times. June 3, 1949. p. B7.
- "'Red Menace' Deals Strong Blow To Communistic Idea". Los Angeles Times. June 10, 1949. p. B6.
External links
edit- Barbra Fuller at IMDb.