BH

Barbara Harris has died.  I was always a fan, though I haven't thought much about her in years--of course, she hasn't made a movie in years.

She first came to notice as a member of Second City in the early 60s--a sketch featuring her and Alan Arkin as an uptight woman and a beatnik was considered a classic. They took their show to Broadway where Harris was nominated for a Tony.

She would go on to star in two musicals on the Great White Way in the 1960s--On A Clear Day You Can See Forever and The Apple Tree (which was actually three musicals in one)--getting two more Tony nominations and winning one for the latter show.

In the first half of the 60s, she also did a fair amount of TV, appearing in shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City and The Defenders.  Her first movie role was a memorable turn in A Thousand Clowns (1965).

She spent the 70s and much of the 80s making films, including Plaza Suite (1971), Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971--Oscar nomination), Nashville (1975), Family Plot (1976), Freaky Friday (1976), Movie Movie (1978), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988).  She worked less and less until she retired from acting, turning to teaching.

She never quite made the A-list, but I was always happy to see her.  And perhaps because she's not such a big name, her performances will be a happy surprise to millions in the future.





PS  Also, RIP to Craig Zadan, who died unexpectedly. A noted producer of Broadway, film and TV, I remember him best as the author of Sondheim & Company, the magnificent book Sondheim fans pored over during the years when little else was available.