Barbara Britton

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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

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2015
Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration
Movie Laura Petrie / Pilot-Head of the Family (archive footage)
1990
Caroline?
Movie Hilary
1967
Mounted Bandits
Movie US diplomat daughter Teresa
1959
The Big Party
TV show Self
1955
The Spoilers
Movie Helen Chester
1955
A Date With Life
TV show
1955
Night Freight
Movie Wanda
1955
Ain't Misbehavin'
Movie Pat Beaton
1955
The $64,000 Question
TV show Assistant
1954
Climax!
TV show Duana Clarke
1954
The George Gobel Show
TV show Self
1954
Dragonfly Squadron
Movie Donna Cottrell
1952
Ride the Man Down
Movie Lottie Priest
1952
The Raiders
Movie Elizabeth Ainsworth
1952
Mr. & Mrs. North
TV show Pamela North
1952
Bwana Devil
Movie Alice Hayward