Barbara Bates

Barbara Bates
Born	(1925-08-06)August 6, 1925 Denver, Colorado, United States
Died	March 18, 1969(1969-03-18) (aged 43) Denver, Colorado, United States
Cause of death	Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning
Resting place	Crown Hill Cemetery, Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1955–1962
Spouse(s)	Cecil Coan (m. 1945–1967) William Reed (m. 1968–1969)

Barbara Bates (August 6, 1925 – March 18, 1969) was an American actress, known for her role as Phoebe in the 1950 drama film All About Eve.

Early life

The eldest of three daughters, Bates was born in Denver, Colorado. While growing up in Denver, she studied ballet and worked as a teen fashion model. The shy teen was persuaded to enter a local beauty contest and won, receiving two round-trip train tickets to Hollywood, California. Two days before returning to Denver, Bates met Cecil Coan, a United Artists publicist, who would ultimately change the course of her life.^[1]

Career

In September 1944, Bates signed a contract with Universal Pictures after Cecil Coan introduced her to producer Walter Wanger. Soon after, she was cast as one of the "Seven Salome Girls" in the 1945 drama, Salome Where She Danced starring Yvonne De Carlo. Around this time, she fell in love with Coan, who was married with two sons and two daughters. In March 1945, Coan divorced his wife and secretly married Bates days later. Bates spent the next few years as a stock actress, landing bit parts in movies and doing cheesecake layouts for magazines like Yank, the Army Weekly and Life. It was one of those photo sessions that caught the eye of executives at Warner Bros. who signed her in 1947. Warner Bros. highlighted her "girl-next-door" image and her acting career took off. She appeared with some of the biggest stars of the day including Bette Davis in June Bride and Danny Kaye in The Inspector General.^[1]

In 1949, Bates' contract with Warner Bros. was terminated when she refused to go to New York to promote The Inspector General. Despite being fired by Warner Brothers, she quickly signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox later that year.^[1]

In late 1949, Bates auditioned for the small role of Phoebe in Fox's upcoming All About Eve. In competition for the part was Zsa Zsa Gabor and others, but Bates impressed the producers and was granted the part. She made a short but important appearance as the devious schemer, Phoebe. Bates' image is enshrined in the film's last scene, posing in front of a three-way mirror, while holding the award won by her idol Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter. This memorable final scene left critics and audiences intrigued by the young actress, who they thought would star in a sequel to All About Eve.^[2]

After her appearance in All About Eve, Bates co-starred in Cheaper by the Dozen, and its sequel Belles on Their Toes, with Jeanne Crain and Myrna Loy.^[3] In 1951, she landed a role opposite MacDonald Carey and Claudette Colbert in the comedy Let's Make It Legal. She co-starred with Donna Reed as the love interests of the 1953 hit Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy, The Caddy.

Decline

Despite a seemingly successful career, Bates' life, both on and off screen, started unraveling. She became a victim of extreme mood swings, insecurity, ill health, and chronic depression. In 1954, she landed the role of Cathy on the NBC sitcom It's a Great Life, co-starring Frances Bavier as her mother, Amy Morgan, and James Dunn as her uncle, Earl Morgan. After seven episodes, she was written out of the show because of her erratic behavior and depression. Bates tried to salvage her career and traveled to England to find work. She was signed on as a contract player with the Rank Organisation, only to drop out of two leading roles in one month. Bates continued to be too emotionally unstable to work and in 1957, her contract with the Rank Organisation was canceled.^[1] Her last onscreen appearance would come in an episode of The Saint that aired in November 1962.^[4]

In 1960, Bates and her husband moved back to the United States and got an apartment in Beverly Hills. Later that year, Coan was diagnosed with cancer. Bates remained devoted to her husband and rarely left his bedside, but the strain was too much for her. She attempted suicide by slashing her wrists and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital where she soon recovered.^[1]

Death

In January 1967, Bates' husband Cecil Coan died of cancer. Devastated by his death, Bates' depression worsened and she again became suicidal. Later that year, she returned to Denver and fell out of public view. For a time, Bates worked as a secretary, as a dental assistant, and as a hospital aide. In December 1968 she married for the second time: to a childhood friend, sportscaster William Reed. Despite her new marriage and location, Bates remained increasingly despondent and depressed.^[1]

On March 18, 1969, just months after her marriage to Reed, Barbara Bates committed suicide in her mother's garage by carbon monoxide poisoning. She was 43 years old.^[5]

Filmography

See also

• List of American film actresses
• List of people from Denver, Colorado

References

External links

• Barbara Bates at the Internet Movie Database
• Barbara Bates at Find a Grave