Barbara Britton

Known for ActingBorn 1920-09-26Died 1980-01-17Long Beach, California, USA

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration

Mounted Bandits

The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

The George Gobel Show

Ride the Man Down

Ain't Misbehavin'

Champagne for Caesar

The Fleet's In

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

Night Freight

Till We Meet Again

Freedom Comes High

Albuquerque

Lux Video Theatre

Cover Up

Louisiana Purchase

Dragonfly Squadron

The Untamed Breed

Loaded Pistols

The Story of Dr. Wassell

Reap the Wild Wind

I Shot Jesse James

Captain Kidd

The Great John L.

The Raiders

Caroline?

The Return of Monte Cristo

The Virginian

Robert Montgomery Presents

Lights Out

Wake Island

So Proudly We Hail

Young and Willing

Gunfighters

They Made Me a Killer

The Fabulous Suzanne

The Spoilers

Secret of the Wastelands

Bwana Devil

Mr. & Mrs. North

Mr. Reckless

The Bandit Queen

Climax!

The Big Party

A Date With Life

The $64,000 Question