Barbara Darrow | |
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Darrow in 1958.
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Born |
Barbara Georgine Wittlinger November 18, 1931 Hollywood, California, United States |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1950–1977 |
Spouse(s) | Thomas Tannenbaum (1956–2001, his death) |
Children | Madelyn, Audrey, Eric |
Barbara Darrow (born November 18, 1931) is an American motion picture and television actress.
Barbara Darrow was born Barbara Georgine Wittlinger in Hollywood, California to a motion picture landscape artist and a former silent screen actress. She took her stage name from her uncle, actor turned agent, John Darrow.
In 1951, Howard Hughes signed Darrow to a contract with RKO Studios. She made mostly B-movie films in the 1950s, including The Monster That Challenged The World and Queen of Outer Space. She replaced Marla English opposite Spencer Tracy in The Mountain, after English had an adverse reaction to a smallpox vaccine. By 1955 she was one of only three actors under contract to RKO.
Darrow made several appearances in one or two episodes of popular television shows in the 1950s. Some of these include The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Bachelor Father, The Bob Cummings Show, M Squad, and Peter Gunn.
Darrow married Thomas David Tannenbaum, son of David Tannenbaum, who served as mayor of Beverly Hills, California for two terms in 1952 and 1956, on September 28, 1956; they remained married until his death on December 1, 2001. A talent agent at MGM, he would later go on to be the founding president of Viacom. They have three children: daughters Madelyn C. (born May 17, 1960) and Audrey C. (born June 29, 1961), and son Eric T. (born August 28, 1963).