Barbara Cason (November 15, 1928 – June 18, 1990) was an American character actress.

Life and career

Cason was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, the daughter of Helen Louise (Phebus) and Charles Carroll Cason. She began her career appearing in theatre and on local television in Memphis during the 1950s, where she notably co-founded and ran the Front St. Theatre. She moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1967, becoming active in theatre there both on and off Broadway through 1973. She most notably starred in the original critically acclaimed production of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's ''

Oh, Coward! ''Oh, Coward!'' is a musical revue in two acts devised by Roderick Cook and containing music and lyrics by Noël Coward. The revue consists of two men and one woman in formal dress, performing songs based on the following themes: England, family ...

'' in 1972–73. She appeared in such cult films as '' The Honeymoon Killers'' (1969), '' Cold Turkey'' (1971) and '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977) as well as the summer replacement variety television series ''Comedy Tonight''. She was also in the movie '' House of Dark Shadows'' (1970) as Mrs. Johnson, when

Clarice Blackburn Clarice Blackburn (February 26, 1921 – August 5, 1995) was an American actress best-known for playing three characters on the cult series ''Dark Shadows''. Early years Blackburn was born in San Francisco, California, but because her f ...

couldn't do the role. After the early 1970s, Cason's career became centered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, appearing mostly within television up until her death. She is probably best known for her roles as Cloris Phebus on '' Carter Country'' (1977–1979) and Ruth Shandling on '' It's Garry Shandling's Show'' (1986–1990). She was married to actor Dennis Patrick from 1970 until her death. She died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, aged 61, after a heart attack.

Filmography

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cason, Barbara 1928 births 1990 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Memphis, Tennessee 20th-century American actresses