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Barbara Read

Barbara Read

Actor

Born December 29, 1917 in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada

Died December 11, 1963

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Biography

Born in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, Barbara Read was the daughter of a contractor. Under contract to Columbia, she was paid but never used for a single picture. She quit in disgust. She was later signed by Universal and was cast as one of the Craig sisters inThree Smart Girls (1936) along with Deanna Durbin and Nan Grey. This was Barbara's first and best remembered film. Her career was over by the time she married actor William Talman, of "Perry Mason" fame, in 1953. The couple had two children: Barbara ("Barbie") and William III ("Bobo"). The marriage was turbulent as both she and Talman suffered from alcohol problems. They divorced in 1960 with Barbara gaining custody of the children. Talman took over custody a year later when Barbara's alcoholism and mental/emotional problems became overbearing. Committed suicide at her Laguna Beach, California home when she turned on the gas jets of her stove and sealed the doors and windows. She left a suicide note blaming "ill health". Barbara Read bore a powerful likeness to Deanna Durbin, whose sister she was portraying in "Three Smart Girls".

Date of Death: 11 December 1963, Laguna Beach, California (suicide)

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Filmography

Actor

22

Type

Year

Coroner Creek Poster

Coroner Creek Feature Film1948Abbie Miles

Key Witness Poster

Key Witness Feature Film1947Martha Higby

Screen Snapshots: Laguna U.S.A. Short Film1947Self

Behind the Mask Poster

Behind the Mask Feature Film1946Margo Lane

Death Valley Poster

Death Valley Feature Film1946Mitzi

Ginger Feature Film1946Peggy Sullivan

The Missing Lady Poster

The Missing Lady Feature Film1946Margo Lane

The Shadow Returns Poster

The Shadow Returns Feature Film1946Margo Lane

Rubber Racketeers Poster

Rubber Racketeers Feature Film1942Mary Dale

Too Many Women Poster

Too Many Women Feature Film1942Linda Pearson

Curtain Call Poster

Curtain Call Feature Film1940Helen Middleton

Married and in Love Poster

Married and in Love Feature Film1940Helen Yates

Sorority House Poster

Sorority House Feature Film1939Dotty Spencer

The Spellbinder Poster

The Spellbinder Feature Film1939Janet Marlowe

Midnight Intruder Poster

Midnight Intruder Feature Film1938Patricia Hammond

The Crime of Doctor Hallet Poster

The Crime of Doctor Hallet Feature Film1938Claire Saunders

Make Way for Tomorrow Poster

Make Way for Tomorrow Feature Film1937Rhoda Cooper

Merry-Go-Round of 1938 Poster

Merry-Go-Round of 1938 Feature Film1937Clarice Stockbridge

The Man Who Cried Wolf Poster

The Man Who Cried Wolf Feature Film1937Nan

The Mighty Treve Poster

The Mighty Treve Feature Film1937Aileen Fenno

The Road Back Poster

The Road Back Feature Film1937Lucy

Three Smart Girls Poster

Three Smart Girls Feature Film1936Kay Craig

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