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Barbara Read

Barbara Read

Known For Acting
Birthday Dec 29, 1917
Died Dec 11, 1963 (45)
Birthplace Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada
Popularity 0.2 (history)
Updated Aug 04, 2024 (Update)
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

Born in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, Barbara Read was the daughter of a contractor. Under contract to Columbia, she was paid but never used for a single picture. She quit in disgust. She was later signed by Universal and was cast as one of the Craig sisters inThree Smart Girls (1936) along with Dea ... nna Durbin and Nan Grey. This was Barbara's first and best remembered film. Her career was over by the time she married actor William Talman, of "Perry Mason" fame, in 1953. The couple had two children: Barbara ("Barbie") and William III ("Bobo"). The marriage was turbulent as both she and Talman suffered from alcohol problems. They divorced in 1960 with Barbara gaining custody of the children. Talman took over custody a year later when Barbara's alcoholism and mental/emotional problems became overbearing. Committed suicide at her Laguna Beach, California home when she turned on the gas jets of her stove and sealed the doors and windows. She left a suicide note blaming "ill health". Barbara Read bore a powerful likeness to Deanna Durbin, whose sister she was portraying in "Three Smart Girls". Date of Death: 11 December 1963, Laguna Beach, California (suicide)

Known For

Filmography

Coroner Creek

Coroner Creek

1948

as Abbie Miles (as Barbara Reed)

Ginger

Ginger

1947

as Peggy Sullivan (as Barbara Reed)

Key Witness

Key Witness

1947

as Martha Higby (as Barbara Reed)

The Missing Lady

The Missing Lady

1946

as Margo Lane (as Barbara Reed)

Behind the Mask

Behind the Mask

1946

as Margo Lane (as Barbara Reed)

The Shadow Returns

The Shadow Returns

1946

as Margo Lane (as Barbara Reed)

Death Valley

Death Valley

1946

as Mitzi

Rubber Racketeers

Rubber Racketeers

1942

as Mary Dale

Too Many Women

Too Many Women

1942

as Linda Pearson

Curtain Call

Curtain Call

1940

as Helen Middleton

Married and in Love

Married and in Love

1940

as Helen Yates

The Spellbinder

The Spellbinder

1939

as Janet Marlowe

Sorority House

Sorority House

1939

as Dotty Spencer

The Crime of Doctor Hallet

The Crime of Doctor Hallet

1938

as Claire Saunders

Midnight Intruder

Midnight Intruder

1938

as Patricia Hammond

The Mighty Treve

The Mighty Treve

1937

as Aileen Fenno

The Road Back

The Road Back

1937

as Lucy

Make Way for Tomorrow

Make Way for Tomorrow

1937

as Rhoda Cooper

Merry Go Round of 1938

Merry Go Round of 1938

1937

as Clarice Stockbridge

Three Smart Girls

Three Smart Girls

1936

as Kay Craig

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Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

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Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 4 8 2
2024 7 6 12 3
2024 8 8 15 3
2024 9 4 7 2
2024 10 3 6 1
2024 11 3 5 1
2024 12 3 6 1
2025 1 3 7 1
2025 2 1 2 1
2025 3 1 2 1
2025 5 1 1 1
2025 6 1 1 1
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 1 4 0

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