Nina Bara (born Frances Joan Baur on May 3, 1920, died August 15, 1990) was an American actress who performed in films, on television, and on

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

Early years

The daughter of an Italian mother and an American father, George Baur, Bara was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. She was educated in Germany, Austria, and Italy.Staff, "Space Girl 'Tonga' to Appear At White-Barne Grand Opening," ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 17 November 1954, Volume LXI, Number 67, page 8.

Film

While acting in ''

The Gay Senorita ''The Gay Senorita'' is a 1945 American comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Dreifuss, which stars Jinx Falkenburg, Jim Bannon, and Steve Cochran. Cast list * Jinx Falkenburg as Elena Sandoval * Jim Bannon as Phil Frentiss, also known as Phil Do ...

'' (1945), Bara helped Brooklyn-born

Adele Jergens Adele Jergens (November 26, 1917 – November 22, 2002) was an American actress. Early life and career Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Adele Louisa Jurgens (some sources say Jurgenson), she rose to prominence in the late 1930s when she was named ...

adopt a Latin accent for her role in that film. Concurrently, Bara worked to lose her own accent to make herself acceptable for a wider range of roles. Her other films included ''Visa'' and ''Carnival in Rio''. "The former 'Space Patrol' Star has held roles in 14 motion pictures for Columbia, MGM, Universal, 20th Century-Fox and Monogram Studios."

Radio and television

On radio, Bara portrayed Tonga, "a former alien villain turned Space Patrol ally" in ''Space Patrol''. She also was heard on ''Tell It Again'', '' Mr. President'' and '' The Adventures of Bill Lance''. She also appeared on '' Retribution'', and '' Meet the Missus''. She had the same Tonga role on the TV version of ''Space Patrol'', which began as a local program on

KECA Checea ( hu, Nagykőcse; german: Ketscha; sr, Кеча, Keča; hr, Keča) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Checea, part of the commune of Cenei until 2004, when it was split off. Geography Checea is l ...

in Los Angeles and later was carried on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. In 1954, after she had left '' Space Patrol'', Bara filed suit for invasion of privacy and breach of contract against the producers of the program and other parties. The suit alleged that

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...

s of the program were released without her consent. It also asked for an injunction to prevent use of her likeness on cereal boxes and toys. In the mid-1950s, Bara was co-host of ''Familiar Faces'', a game show on

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains stud ...

in Los Angeles. "In addition to co-starring in '' Personal Appearance theater'' 'sic''for ABC-TV, she has been the featured comedienne with the '' Allan Young Show'' 'sic''in guest spots and participated in several ''

Life with Elizabeth ''Life with Elizabeth'' is an American television sitcom starring Betty White as Elizabeth and Del Moore as her husband Alvin; Jack Narz is the on-camera announcer and narrator. The series aired in syndication from October 7, 1953, to September 1 ...

'' films for Guild Films." "She has also appeared in over 15 telethons throughout the country." Bara appeared as "Miss EMMY" for the Award Presentation of the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

on February 18, 1952.

Personal life

On July 10, 1952, Bara married Robert B. Sheldon, an assistant television director. On July 14, 1956, she married Richard Winslow Johnson, a musician. They separated on May 4, 1957, and divorced on April 14, 1958.

Later years

In the early 1960s, Bara made the dean's honor list at

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

, where she majored in psychology. After leaving show business in the 1960s, she perused a second career as a librarian, earning a master's degree in library science at USC and then established a corporate library at Blue Cross of Southern California, after retiring there in 1985 she worked as a substitute in the city library system.

Death

On August 15, 1990, Bara died of cancer at

Glendale Adventist Medical Center Adventist Health Glendale is a hospital located in Glendale, California, it is part of the healthcare network Adventist Health. Adventist Health Glendale is one of the city's oldest businesses, founded in 1905, a year before Glendale was incorpor ...

. She was 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bara, Nina 1990 deaths American film actresses American radio actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 1920 births Argentine emigrants to the United States Argentine expatriates in Germany Argentine expatriates in Austria Argentine expatriates in Italy