Barbara French Read, also known as Barbara Reed, (December 29, 1917 – December 12, 1963) was a Canadian-American film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, who appeared in 21 films during her career.

Early life

Born Barbara French Read on December 29, 1917, the daughter of contractor John Howard Read and Nancy Elizabeth Collier, in

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William, Ontario, Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been ...

, Read moved to California in the mid-1930s. She got her first movie contract while living in

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and ...

: she was watching a film production in Laguna when she was spotted and offered a screen test, after which she entered a six-month contract with the production company. When she failed to receive any roles because of her lack of experience, she joined the Laguna Beach Players theater, where she acted in a new play each month for two years.

Film career

Her first film appearance was one of the three principal girls in the 1936

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

Three Smart Girls ''Three Smart Girls'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Barbara Read, Nan Grey, Deanna Durbin (her feature film debut), and Ray Milland. The film's screenplay was written by Adele Comandini and Austin ...

'', which also starred

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With th ...

and

Nan Grey Nan Grey (born Eschal Loleet Grey Miller; July 25, 1918 – July 25, 1993) was an American film actress. Early years Grey was born in Houston, Texas. In 1934, at age 16, she went to Hollywood with her mother for a holiday. She was persuaded by ...

. From 1937 through 1939, Read appeared in nine films, most notably starring in ''The Spellbinder'', opposite

Lee Tracy William Lee Tracy (April 14, 1898 – October 18, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is known foremost for his portrayals between the late 1920s and 1940s of fast-talking, wisecracking news reporters, press agents, law ...

. From 1940 through 1948, she appeared in 11 films. Her most remembered role was portraying

Margo Lane Margo Lane is a fictional character in ''The Shadow'' stories. Margo is a friend and companion to Lamont Cranston, and an agent for his alter ego, The Shadow, in the wealthy set. Her first appearance was in 1937 in ''The Shadow'' radio drama. ...

in three films from ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'' series, starring opposite

Kane Richmond Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character La ...

. Richmond and she teamed together in ''

The Shadow Returns ''The Shadow Returns'' is a 1946 American comedy crime film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Kane Richmond, Barbara Read and Tom Dugan. It features the pulp character The Shadow, already a popular hero of novels and a radio show. It was the fi ...

'', ''Behind the Mask'', and ''

The Missing Lady ''The Missing Lady'' is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Kane Richmond and Barbara Read. It was the third and final in a series of three films released by Monogram in 1946 starring Richmond as The Shadow, the ot ...

'', all in 1946. Her last role was alongside

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

and Marguerite Chapman in the 1948

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

Coroner Creek ''Coroner Creek'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Randolph Scott and Marguerite Chapman. It was based on the novel of the same name by Luke Short. Plot After his fiancée is abducted from a stagecoach and ...

''.

Personal life

In September 1936, Read eloped to Mexico with a young artist named William Paul III, but they divorced two months later. Read married talent agent Bill Josephy in Santa Barbara on December 27, 1947. They had two boys, Damon Josephy and Quentin Josephy. She married actor William Talman in 1953. They had two children: Barbie and William Whitney Talman III. They divorced on August 23, 1960. Read died in an apparent suicide on December 12, 1963, in

. She was 45 years old.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1936) as Kay Craig * '' The Man Who Cried Wolf'' (1937) as Nan * ''

Merry-Go-Round of 1938 ''Merry-Go-Round of 1938'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Irving Cummings and written by Monte Brice and A. Dorian Otvos. The film stars Bert Lahr, Jimmy Savo, Billy House, Alice Brady, Mischa Auer, Joy Hodges, Louise Fazenda, John 'Du ...

'' (1937) as Clarice Stockbridge * ''

The Road Back ''The Road Back'', also translated as ''The Way Back'', (german: Der Weg zurück) is a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque, commonly regarded as a sequel to his 1929 novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front''. It was first serialized in the ...

'' (1937) as Lucie * ''

Make Way for Tomorrow ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Leo McCarey. The plot concerns an elderly couple (played by Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) who are forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five children ...

'' (1937) as Rhoda Cooper * ''

The Mighty Treve ''The Mighty Treve'' is a 1937 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Lewis D. Collins and written by Albert R. Perkins, Marcus Goodrich and Charles Grayson (writer), Charles Grayson. It is based on the 1925 novel ''Treve'' ...

'' (1937) as Aileen Fenno * ''

The Crime of Doctor Hallet ''The Crime of Doctor Hallet'' is a 1938 American drama film, directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Ralph Bellamy, Josephine Hutchinson, William Gargan, Barbara Read, John 'Dusty' King, and Charles Stevens. The film was released by Universal ...

'' (1938) as Claire Saunders * ''

Midnight Intruder ''Midnight Intruder'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Louis Hayward, Eric Linden, J.C. Nugent and Barbara Read. Plot After losing all his money gambling on horses, former newspaper reporter Barry Gilbert and "Doc ...

'' (1938) as Patricia Hammond * ''

The Spellbinder ''The Spellbinder'' is a 1939 American drama film directed by Jack Hively, written by Thomas Lennon and Joseph Fields, and starring Lee Tracy, Barbara Read, Patric Knowles, Allan Lane and Linda Hayes. It was released on July 28, 1939, by ...

'' (1939) as Janet Marlowe * ''

Sorority House North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas in which fraternity and sorority members live and work together. In addition to serving as housing, fraternity and sorority housing may also serve to ...

'' (1939) as Dotty Spencer * '' Married and in Love'' (1940) as Helen Yates * '' Curtain Call'' (1940) as Helen Middleton * ''

Rubber Racketeers ''Rubber Racketeers'' is a 1942 American crime film directed by Harold Young and starring Ricardo Cortez and Rochelle Hudson. The film was inspired by tire rationing. Plot summary Gilin is a gangster who has just gotten out of prison. One n ...

'' (1942) as Mary Dale * '' Too Many Women'' (1942) as Linda Pearson * ''

'' (1946) as Margo Lane * ''

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North Am ...

'' (1946) as Mitzi * '' Behind the Mask'' (1946) as Margo Lane *''

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

'' (1946) as Peggy Sullivan * '' Key Witness'' (1947) as Martha Higby * ''

'' (1948) as Abbe Miles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Barbara 1917 births 1963 deaths Actresses from Ontario Canadian film actresses People from Thunder Bay The Shadow 20th-century Canadian actresses People from Laguna Beach, California 1963 suicides Canadian emigrants to the United States