Barbara Britton

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Barbara Britton
Britton in They Made Me a Killer (1946)
Born	Barbara Brantingham September 26, 1919(1919-09-26) Long Beach, California, USA
Died	January 17, 1980 (aged 60) New York, New York, USA. (gastric cancer)
Occupation	Film, television actress
Spouse(s)	Dr. Eugene Czukor (1945-1980)

Barbara Britton (September 26, 1919 – January 17, 1980) was a film and television actress.

She was the first actress to play Laura Petrie on television on the pilot program, "Head of the Family" which was retooled and became The Dick Van Dyke Show with the role taken over by Mary Tyler Moore. The California native signed a film contract with Paramount Pictures in 1941. Her first two films were that same year, first in the William Boyd western Secret of the Wasteland, followed by Louisiana Purchase starring Bob Hope. Her first big film appearance was a small role in the 1942 John Wayne film Reap the Wild Wind.

During the 1940s she starred in three films that, today, are her most recognizable film roles, two of which placed her starring opposite Randolph Scott. The first was with Scott in the 1945 film Captain Kidd, followed by The Virginian in 1946, opposite Joel McCrea. The third was in the 1947 Randolph Scott film Gunfighters. All three were western films. She would team with Randolph 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 twenty-six films during that decade.

Britton starred in the 1950s television show Mr. and Mrs. North, a Thin Man-like mystery show. She was probably best known for being the spokesperson for Revlon products in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in ads and commercials including live spots on The $64,000 Question.

One of Barbara's last roles was on the daytime soap One Life to Live in 1979, a year before she died of cancer. For many years Barbara and her husband lived in a rambling red shingled house in the Fairfield County town of Bethel, Connecticut before moving to the now antique-gallery-enclave of Woodbury, Connecticut.