Background

Barbara Britton was born on September 26, 1920 Barbara Brantingham in Long Beach, California, the only child of Adna W. Brantingham, a city employee, and Clara Ginn.

Education

Barbara attended Polytechnic High School majoring in speech with the intention of working as a speech and drama teacher. Following graduation from Polytechnic High School, Britton enrolled in Long Beach Junior College as a drama major.

Career

In her second year at the Long Beach Junior College Britton won a place on the Long Beach float for the 1941 Rose Bowl Parade. Her photo, which appeared in numerous southern California newspapers, caught the attention of Hollywood agents. On the advice of her drama teacher, Britton invited them to see her performance in the Long Beach Junior College production The Old Maid.

By the end of January 1941, Britton had signed a contract with Paramount Pictures, taken her grandmother's surname, and started her movie career. Between 1941 and 1943, Britton graced more than one hundred magazine covers and appeared in ten movies. Those early films tended to minimize both her beauty and her talent.

Britton received her first major role in the 1944 film Till We Meet Again in which she portrayed a French nun aiding an American aviator's escape from the Nazis. Director Frank Borzage insisted on casting the relatively unknown Britton, whom he had screen tested for Stage Door Canteen when the scheduled star, Maureen O'Hara, had to withdraw because of illness.

Britton played starring roles in the 1946 remake of The Virginian with Joel McCrea; the 1948 Western Albuquerque opposite Randolph Scott; Champagne for Caesar in 1950, with Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, and Vincent Price; and, also in 1950, Bandit Queen, in which she played the title role. In 1952 she starred in the first Natural Vision three-dimension feature movie, Bwana Devil, with Robert Stack.

In 1955 she appeared in her last film, The Spoilers. Britton's first professional stage appearance occurred in the 1950 Los Angeles production of Strange Bedfellows. During the next two years she appeared in a number of plays produced in Los Angeles and in numerous summer stock theaters on the East Coast.

In 1951 she debuted on Broadway in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Getting Married. Other Broadway plays, including Wake Up, Darling (1956), followed. Her last Broadway performance was in the 1967 production of Spofford. While performing on Broadway in 1951, Britton was cast to portray Pam North in the television series "Mr. and Mrs. North, " which aired on CBS in October 1952.

In January 1954 the show moved to NBC, where it remained until its cancellation in July of that year. Although this was Britton's first television series, her first appearance on television was in December 1950 on "Robert Montgomery Presents" (also called "The Lucky Strike Theatre"). Between 1950 and 1980, Britton was a guest star in thirteen television dramas, starred in two series and one series pilot, became a regular on two soap operas, and filmed three specials, the last one airing after her death. She also spent twelve years as the official commercial spokeswoman for Revlon. During her forty-year career, Britton appeared in no fewer than thirty-five films, twenty-one television shows, and eleven stage plays.

Never one to succumb to the Hollywood lifestyle, Britton once described herself as "the dullest person in Hollywood. " Press agents, in her opinion, hated her because she never did anything exciting.

At various times she served on the boards of the Salvation Army, the Protestant Council, the National Council of Churches, and the Rare Blood Club. The YMCA and the plight of underprivileged youth also received special attention and support from Britton.

In 1957, following a successful movie career and in the midst of a burgeoning television and stage career, Britton and her husband moved their family to New York City. Except for a few television appearances and one run on Broadway, she spent the next two decades focused on her family and her charities.

She returned to television in 1979, a year before her death, when she joined the cast of the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live. " Britton died in New York City on January 17, 1980.

Achievements

• Although Britton never won any industry awards for her work, in 1949 she received two distinct and divergent public honors. The first came from her hometown, the city of Long Beach, when it named Britton Drive after her. The second came from Peruvian artist Alberto Varga, who proclaimed that Britton possessed "thighs that sigh, " a widely reported comment that set off a furor of controversy among her fans, who felt she was above such a demeaning "honor. " In 1975 she was the honorary chairperson of the Connecticut Heart Fund Campaign. She was also probably best known for being the spokesperson for Revlon products in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in ads and commercials including live spots on The $64, 000 Question. On February 8, 1960 she received a star for television on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; her star is located at 1719 Vine Street.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Gunfighters Collector Edition ~ Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Forrest Tucker

    (Randolph Scott Barbara Britton Forrest Tucker Bruce Cabot...)

  • I Shot Jesse James

    (Bob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to ...)

  • Gene Autry Collection DVD #1 - Loaded Pistols/Ride Ranger Ride

    (Perhaps no other entertainer has had a greater impact on ...)

  • Mr. and Mrs. North: Touch of Death

    ( Jerry North, the suave and successful book publisher, i...)

  • Mr. & Mrs. North, Volume 11

    (Four murder-filled episodes from the vintage TV mystery s...)

  • Loaded Pistols
  • Loaded Pistols
  • Set of Poems for Children: No. 2, Rain
  • Albuquerque
  • Mr. & Mrs. North

Religion

Rather than attend nightclubs or Hollywood parties, Britton preferred teaching Sunday school or delivering sermons at the North Glendale Methodist Church, recording books for the blind, and working for a variety of local and national charities.

At various times she served on the boards of the Salvation Army, the Protestant Council, the National Council of Churches, and the Rare Blood Club.

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• In her first film, Secret of the Wastelands (1941), Paramount's press release stated that "Barbara's big blue eyes were framed by large, hornrimmed goggles, her natural blonde hair was done up under a horror of a crude, old-fashioned hat, [and] her knees were concealed from view by long dresses. "
  
  Despite Britton's wardrobe, "consisting of a nun's robes, two decidedly unglamorous dresses, a black head shawl and an old trench coat, " Paramount noted, "she managed to look like an angel. "

Connections

After viewing of the film's first rough cuts, Britton's billing was upgraded from a feature role to that of a costar. While shooting Till We Meet Again, Britton suffered a nervous breakdown, and, upon the recommendation of a friend, began seeing Dr. Eugene J. Czukor, a specialist in psychosomatic medicine. Through therapy, Britton, a self-described pleaser who had a compulsion to be liked, learned to take control of her life, make more mature decisions, and, when necessary, say "no" to the studio and publicists. Eventually Czukor went from being Britton's doctor to being her friend, business manager, and husband.

They were married on April 2, 1945; they had four children, two of whom lived past infancy.

The couple raised two children -- son Theodore (Ted or Theo) who appeared on the Canadian Shakespearean stage and later became a yoga instructor, and daughter Christina who grew up to become a model, actress, opera singer, music therapist and romance novelist. Both used the surname Britton in their respective performance careers.

husband :

Eugene J Czukor

naturopathic physician 1897–1989

mother :

Lillie Clare Grim Brantingham

1889–1962

Son:

Theodore Britton

Father :

Adna Willis Brantingham

1892–1981

Friend:

Randolph Scott

actor She became good friends with her film co-star Randolph Scott after their first film.

Daughter:

Christina Britton