Barbara Lang (born Barbara Jean Bly, March 2, 1928 – July 22, 1982 ) was an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Early life

Lang was a student at

Eagle Rock High School Eagle Rock High School (ERHS) is a public school located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of northeast Los Angeles, California. History The school opened its doors on September 12, 1927. It was in the Los Angeles City High School District until ...

and acted in little theater.

Illness

After having

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

Lang was told that she might never walk again. She turned to the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

during this time and credited faith for performing a

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

. Shortly after being stricken, her legs and facial muscles were

paralyzed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

, and she had difficulty

speaking Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...

. The lingering effect she experienced most was tiring easily. Lang began singing in night clubs to pay her medical debts. She was a self-taught vocalist who trusted her accompanist to select each song's key and pitch. She eventually began singing regularly in Portland and San Francisco.

Career

Film

She first came to the attention of Hollywood producers with appearances in six ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'' episodes (1955–1956). In 1957, she signed a contract with

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

and was assigned to dramatic school. As a new star for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Lang played the feminine lead in '' House of Numbers'' (1957), co-starring with

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

. It was filmed inside

San Quentin Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

and in Mill Valley, California. Lang was at first named to star opposite

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in '' Jailhouse Rock''. Before being cast the movie was tentatively entitled ''Jailhouse Kid''. In the

Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood "Golden Age" of musicals at MGM Studios, producing many successfu ...

production of ''

Party Girl A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

'' (1958), Lang played "Ginger D'Amour", a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

showgirl of the 1930s.

Television

After surviving and recovering from polio, Lang went into television work. Her TV credits are numerous. She is in episodes of ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...

'' (1957), the episode "Escape to Tampico" in ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

'' (1958), ''

The Bob Cummings Show ''The Bob Cummings Show'' (also known in reruns as ''Love That Bob'') is an American sitcom starring Bob Cummings, which was broadcast from January 2, 1955, to September 15, 1959. The program began with a half-season run on NBC, then ran for two ...

'' (1958), ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...

'' (1959), '' Lawman'' (1959), ''

Tightrope! ''Tightrope!'' is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960, under the alternating sponsorship of the J.B. Williams Company (Aqua Velva, Lectric Shave, etc.), and American Tobacco ( Pall Mall). Produc ...

'' (1959), and ''

Outlaws An outlaw is a person living outside the law. Outlaws or The Outlaws may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''The Outlaws'' (1950 film), an Italian crime film * ''Outlaws'' (1985 film), a French film * ''The Outlaws'' (2017 film), a Sou ...

'' (1960), among others.

Personal life

In November 1958, Lang won an

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within Law, secular and Religious law, religious legal systems for declaring a marriage Void (law), null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually ex post facto law, retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is c ...

of her two-year marriage to actor Alan Wells. The decree was granted on grounds that Wells had married Lang in

Ensenada, Mexico Ensenada is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on the Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja California. The ...

, ten months before his divorce from actress

Claudia Barrett Claudia Barrett (born Imagene Williams; November 3, 1929 – April 30, 2021) was an American television and film actress. Early life Barrett was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. I. J. Williams. She began takin ...

was final. Lang and Wells met when she played in ''

''. Lang died at age 54 in 1982 reportedly from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Acting credits

*''

'' (1955–56) 3 appearances *''Hot Summer Night'' (1957) (uncredited) *'' House of Numbers'' (1957) *''

'' (1957) 1 episode *''

'' (1958) 1 episode *''

'' (1958) *''

'' (1958) 1 episode *''

'' (1959) 1 episode *'' Lawman'' (1959) 4 episodes *''

'' (1959) 1 episode *''

'' (1960) 1 episode

References

* ''

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

Daily Times-News'', "Polio Didn't Stop Barbara Lang", April 26, 1957, Page 4. * ''

Long Beach Press-Telegram The ''Press-Telegram'' is a paid daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Coverage area for the ''Press-Telegram'' includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Lynw ...

'', November 11, 1956, Page 170. * ''

Lowell Sun ''The Sun'', also known as ''The Lowell Sun'', is a daily newspaper based in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, serving towns in Massachusetts around the Greater Lowell area and beyond. As of 2011, its average daily circulation was about 42,9 ...

'', "Barbara Lang Wins Annulment", November 4, 1958, p. 6 * ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' rose to become an influential daily newspaper. With the declin ...

'', "San Quentin Drama On Fox Screen", Friday, October 18, 1957, p. E45 * ''Syracuse Herald Journal'', ''Hollywood and TV Close-Ups'', June 1, 1958, p. 98

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Barbara 1928 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American actresses American television actresses American film actresses American stage actresses Female models from California Actresses from Hollywood, Los Angeles 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers