Cheryl Barnes (b. 1951 in Westfield, New Jersey) is an American singer and actress. She is best known for her role in

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

's 1979 film adaptation of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'', where she played the mother of Hud's little son.

Biography

Raised in Westfield, New Jersey,Allis, Samuel
"Cheryl Barnes, One Song Later"
'' The Washington Post'', May 6, 1979. Accessed October 13, 2021. "Barnes grew up the oldest of five children in a middle class family in the middle class town of Westfield, N.J., 'where everyone is supposed to go to college.'" Barnes graduated from Westfield High School."Cheryl Barnes Is Starring In ''Godspell''"
''The Westfield Leader'', June 14, 1973. Accessed October 13, 2021. "Cheryl Barnes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Barnes of Westfield, is one of the stars of the international hit play ''Godspell''.... A graduate of Westfield High School, Cheryl attended Union Junior College before going to New York and making her theatrical debut in ''The Last Sweet Days of Isaac''". Her first professional experience as a singer came while a student at Union County College, when she joined the

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

Eve's Garden. With that band, she played a number of dates as the opening act for groups such as the Classics IV, The Vagrants (with Leslie West), and Ten Wheel Drive. Barnes performed in

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

's ''Mass'' and on Broadway in '' The Last Sweet Days of Isaac'', '' Godspell'', and ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. She portrayed Dina, the handmaiden, in Doug Henning's '' The Magic Show''. Along with Laura Branigan, Cheryl sang backing vocals for Leonard Cohen on a European tour in 1976. Barnes auditioned for ''Hair'' at an open casting call. She had no agent and was working as a

chambermaid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

in a motel in

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

. Barnes' song in ''Hair'', " Easy to Be Hard," was captured in one take, and this is the take seen in its entirety in the film. Her later scene in the desert outside the army base was filmed in Barstow, California, where she remained after production. Forman talked her into coming to New York City for a few months, as he did not want to see such talent go to waste, but Barnes soon returned to Barstow, where she worked as a piano teacher. She remained friends with Forman and accompanied him to Prague in 1983, where he was shooting the film '' Amadeus''.Miloš Forman and Jan Novák: ''Autobiografie Miloše Formana'' (2007) in Czech... based on Forman's ''Turnaround'' and ''Art of Possible'' Barnes sang the song "Love and Passion" (music by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

and lyrics by

Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...

) for the soundtrack of the 1980 film ''

American Gigolo ''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically ...

''.

Discography

*''Cheryl'' 1987 * ''Listen To This'' 2013

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Cheryl 1951 births Living people Actors from New Jersey American film actresses American women singers American musical theatre actresses Optimism Records artists People from Westfield, New Jersey Union College (New Jersey) alumni Westfield High School (New Jersey) alumni 21st-century American women