Barbara Whiting Smith (May 19, 1931 – June 9, 2004) was an American actress and singer.

Early life

Whiting was born 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' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the daughter of music manager Eleanor Youngblood Whiting and composer Richard A. Whiting. Her older sister was singer

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

Career

Her movie career began with the 1945 film, ''

Junior Miss ''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of ...

'', a movie based on her popular radio show by the same name. This was followed by nine other starring roles until she married Gail Smith and retired. On television, she co-starred with her sister, Margaret in ''Those Whiting Girls'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

. The program debuted July 4, 1955, as a summer replacement for ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

''. Whiting's radio career was what she was most known for during her lifetime. In 1948 she began to star in

's ''

''. It was one of the most successful radio shows of the time especially with younger audiences. On February 8, 1960, Barbara was honored with a star at 6443 Hollywood Boulevard, in the television section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life and death

On May 7, 1959, Whiting married Gail Smith, an advertising professional. It was her first marriage and his second. They had a son, Richard Whiting Smith. Barbara was a "longtime volunteer" at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan. She lived a quiet life, dedicated to her son Richard. Whiting died of cancer, in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

, aged 73, June 9, 2004. She was survived by her sister and a son.

Filmography

Select film credits

* ''

'' (1945) - Fuffy Adams * ''

Centennial Summer ''Centennial Summer'' is a 1946 musical film directed by Otto Preminger. Starring Jeanne Crain and Cornel Wilde, the film is based on a novel by Albert E. Idell. It was produced in response to the hugely successful 1944 MGM musical film ''Meet M ...

'' (1946) - Susanna Rogers * ''

Home, Sweet Homicide ''Home Sweet Homicide'' is an American mystery film directed by Lloyd Bacon and released in 1946. It stars Peggy Ann Garner, Randolph Scott and Lynn Bari, and was based on the eponymous mystery novel by Craig Rice. The film features the line ...

'' (1946) - Jo-Ella Holbrook * ''

Carnival in Costa Rica ''Carnival in Costa Rica'' is a 1947 American musical film directed by Gregory Ratoff and written by Samuel Hoffenstein, John Larkin, and Elizabeth Reinhardt. It was released in Technicolor by Twentieth Century-Fox. Dick Haymes, Vera-Ellen, ...

'' (1947) - Maria Molina * ''

City Across the River ''City Across the River'' is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by Maxwell Shane and starring Stephen McNally, Thelma Ritter, Sue England, Barbara Whiting, Luis Van Rooten and Jeff Corey. The screenplay is based on the novel ''The Amboy ...

'' (1949) - Annie Kane * ''

I Can Get It for You Wholesale ''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' is a musical, produced by David Merrick, music and lyrics by Harold Rome, and book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, wh ...

'' (1951) - Ellen Cooper * ''

Beware, My Lovely ''Beware, My Lovely'' is a 1952 film noir crime film directed by Harry Horner starring Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan and Taylor Holmes. The film is based on the 1950 play ''The Man'' by Mel Dinelli, who also wrote the screenplay. Plot A widow impulsi ...

'' (1952) - Ruth Williams * ''Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder'' (1952) - Suzy Milligan * ''

Dangerous When Wet ''Dangerous When Wet'' is a 1953 American live-action/animated musical comedy film starring Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas and Jack Carson, directed by Charles Walters and featuring an animated swimming sequence starring Williams with the cat-a ...

'' (1953) - Suzie Higgins * ''

Paris Follies of 1956 ''Paris Follies of 1956'' is a 1955 American film directed by Leslie Goodwins. The film is also known as ''Fresh from Paris'' in the United States (TV title) and the working title of the film. The film showcases several acts filmed at Frank Senn ...

'' (1955) (with sister

) - Barbara Walton

Select television appearances

* ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' * '' Starlight Theatre'' (1950) * ''

The Bigelow Theatre ''The Bigelow Theatre'' (also known as ''Bigelow-Sanford Theater'' and as ''Hollywood Half Hour'' and ''Marquee Theater'' in syndication) is an American anthology series originally broadcast on CBS Television and on the DuMont Television Network. ...

'' (1951) * '' Dragnet'' (1954) * ''

The Public Defender ''The Public Defender'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film directed by J. Walter Ruben, starring Richard Dix and featuring Boris Karloff. Rich playboy Pike Winslow dons the mantle of 'The Reckoner', a mysterious avenger, when he learns that ...

'' (1954) - Elly Black / Torry * Those Whiting Girls - Desilu Studios (1955-1957) (TV serial) * ''

Fireside Theatre ''Fireside Theatre'' (also known as ''Jane Wyman Presents'') is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Productions were low-budget and often based ...

'' (1955) - Marian * ''

The Jimmy Durante Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1955) - Herself - Suzy the Hatcheck Girl * ''

TV Reader's Digest ''TV Reader's Digest '' is the title of a 30-minute American television anthology drama series, which aired on the ABC from 1955 to 1956. Its theme music was "Polonaise" from Act III of ''Eugene Onegin''. Based on articles that appeared in ''Re ...

'' (1956) - Birdie * ''

The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show ''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...

'' (1956) - Herself - Singer * ''

Men of Annapolis A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

'' (1957) - Willie (Wilhelmina)

Select radio credits

* '' Hollywood Star Time'' * ''

Meet Corliss Archer ''Meet Corliss Archer'' is an American radio program from radio's Golden Age that ran from January 7, 1943, to September 30, 1956. Although it was CBS's answer to NBC's ''A Date with Judy'', it was also broadcast by NBC in 1948 as a summer repla ...

'' * ''

The Screen Guild Theater ''The Screen Guild Theater'' is a radio anthology series broadcast from 1939 until 1952 during the Golden Age of Radio. Leading Hollywood stars performed adaptations of popular motion pictures. Originating on CBS Radio, it aired under several dif ...

'' * ''

The Great Gildersleeve ''The Great Gildersleeve'' is a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was built a ...

'' * ''

Family Theater ''Family Theater'' is a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology radio program which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the United States from February 13, 1947, to September 11, 1957. Production history ''Family Theater'' developed from a R ...

'' * '' The Bing Crosby Show'' * ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

'' * ''

The Railroad Hour ''The Railroad Hour'' was a radio series of musical dramas and comedies broadcast from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s. Sponsored by the Association of American Railroads, the series condensed musicals and operettas to shorter lengths, concentr ...

'' * ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

'' * ''

Broadway Is My Beat ''Broadway Is My Beat'', a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air. For ...

'' * '' On Stage'' * ''

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962. The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'Br ...

References

External links

Short Biography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiting, Barbara 1931 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers American film actresses American radio actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in Michigan Actresses from Los Angeles 21st-century American women