Joanna Barnes

Joanna Barnes (born November 15, 1934) is an American actress and writer.

Early years

Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Milton Academy and then Smith College, from which she graduated in 1956 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.^[1] She moved to Los Angeles, California soon after finishing her education, and took up a contract with Columbia Pictures. She has since had roles in more than twenty films and made guest appearances on many television shows, including the ABC/Warner Brothers programs, 77 Sunset Strip and Maverick, CBS's Have Gun - Will Travel, and the David Janssen crime drama, Richard Diamond, Private Detective.

Barnes appeared as Kate Henniger, with Bing Russell and Arthur Space in the 1958 episode "Ghost Town" of the ABC/WB western series, Colt .45, starring Wayde Preston.^[2]

Career

With Peter Falk in The Trials of O'Brien

With Roger Moore in The Trials of O'Brien

Barnes's performance in the film Auntie Mame (1958) as the snooty 'Gloria Upson' earned her a Golden Globe nomination for "New Star of the Year." In 1959, she portrayed Lola in the NBC detective series, 21 Beacon Street.

Barnes became the 13th actress to play Jane when she appeared in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959), opposite Denny Miller as Tarzan.

In Disney's original 1961 version of The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills, Barnes played gold-digger Vicky Robinson, who temporarily comes between Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith. In the 1998 remake starring Lindsey Lohan, she played Vicki Blake, the mother of the gold-digging girlfriend character.

In the 1960s, Barnes worked for producer Martin Ransohoff and appeared in episodes of his The Beverly Hillbillies (Elly Goes to School and The Clampett Look) and was billed as special guest-star. Barnes played Peter Falk's former wife on the 1965–1966 CBS series The Trials of O'Brien and was host of the ABC daytime talk show Dateline: Hollywood in 1967. During this period she appeared in The War Wagon, a lavish western movie starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, which she touted tirelessly on her show. She was also a frequent panelist in the early years of the syndicated version of What's My Line?

On December 19, 1972, Barnes appeared on The Merv Griffin Show with Joan Fontaine, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Dan Martino (founder of the Dan Martino School for Men).

She is also a distinguished writer and columnist. Her column, Touching Home, was carried by The Chicago Tribune and the New York News Syndicate. She has also published several novels, including The Deceivers (1970), Pastora (1980), and Silverwood (1985).

Personal life

On April 30, 1955, Barnes married Richard Edward Herndon; they later divorced. On June 24, 1962, she married actor Lawrence Dobkin; they divorced on January 16, 1967. On October 1, 1980, she married Jack Lionel Warner. She has no children, but during her marriage to Lawrence Dobkin, she was the stepmother of his daughter Deborah from his first wife, Frances Walker.

Filmography

References

External links

• Joanna Barnes at the Internet Movie Database
• Speaking of Stories: Joanna Barnes bio
• Golden Globes: Auntie Mame