{{Short description|American actress (1931–2018)}} {{Use American English|date=September 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Barbara Darrow | image = Barbara Darrow 1958.jpg | caption = Darrow in 1958 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|11|18|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Hollywood, California, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|08|26|1931|11|18|mf=yes}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California | other_names = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1950–1977 | spouse = {{marriage|Thomas D. Tannenbaum|1956|2001|reason=d.}} | children = 3 | relatives = John Darrow (uncle) | website = }}
'''Barbara Darrow''' (November 18, 1931 - August 26, 2018){{Citation needed |date=October 2020}} was an American motion picture and television actress. She died on August 26 2018 of a heart attack at 86.
==Early years== Darrow was born in Hollywood, California, to George H. Wittlinger,<ref name="lat">{{cite news |title=Daughter of Gardener Has Film Pact Approved |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27375817/barbara_darrow/ |accessdate=19 January 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=September 1, 1950 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=9|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> a motion-picture landscape artist,<ref name=ggirls/> and Alice Simpson Wittlinger,<ref>{{cite news |title=Film Pay Hike Approved for Drama Student |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27376160/barbara_darrow/ |accessdate=19 January 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=August 22, 1951 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=Part 2, p 1|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> a former silent-screen actress.<ref name=ggirls>[http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show.php?id=60 Barbara Darrow] at Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen, retrieved January 28, 2012</ref> She graduated from Hollywood High School.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hopper |first1=Hedda |title=Dan Duryea to Star in Al Jennings Role |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27375502/the_los_angeles_times/ |accessdate=19 January 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |agency=Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate, Inc. |date=March 29, 1950 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=Part III, p 6|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Career== Darrow's work as a model led to her receiving offers of film contracts. On August 31, 1950, a judge approved her seven-year contract with RKO Studios.<ref name=lat/> She made mostly B-movies in the 1950s, including ''The Monster That Challenged The World'' and ''Queen of Outer Space''. She replaced Marla English opposite Spencer Tracy in ''The Mountain'', after English had an adverse reaction to a smallpox vaccine.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marla English: She chose love |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27413007/marla_english/ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |work=Arizona Daily Star |agency=Parade |date=September 19, 1955 |location=Arizona, Tucson |page=27|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> By 1955, she was one of only three actors under contract to RKO.{{Citation needed |date=December 2021}}
On television, Darrow portrayed Nurse Forester in the NBC medical drama ''Doctors' Hospital''.<ref name="etvs">{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=272|edition=2nd}}</ref> She also made several appearances in one or two episodes of popular television shows in the 1950s. Some of these include ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', ''Bachelor Father'', ''The Bob Cummings Show'', ''M Squad'', and ''Peter Gunn''.
==Personal life== On September 28, 1956, Darrow married Thomas David Tannenbaum, son of David Tannenbaum (mayor of Beverly Hills for two terms in 1952 and 1956), and remained married until his death on December 1, 2001.<ref name=ggirls/> A talent agent at MGM, he became the founding president of Viacom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2001/scene/people-news/tom-tannenbaum-1117856687/|title=Tom Tannenbaum|first1=Eileen|last1=Kowalski|date=December 4, 2001|publisher=}}</ref> They had three children.
Her youngest daughter Audrey married Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee's only child, Dodd Darin.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cerio |first1=Gregory |title=This Boys' Life |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20104376,00.html |access-date=December 15, 2021 |work=People |date=November 14, 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055551/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20104376,00.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> Her son Eric Tannenbaum became president of Columbia TriStar Television at age 33;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-10-07-mn-51456-story.html|title=TV's Rising Moguls: Young and Restless|first1=SALLIE|last1=HOFMEISTER|first2=BRIAN|last2=LOWRY|date=October 7, 1996|publisher=|via=LA Times}}</ref> he later executive produced ''Two and a Half Men''.
Darrow's uncle is John Darrow, a silent-film star turned successful agent, from whom she borrowed her stage name. Her older sister Madelyn Darrow became a model,<ref name=ggirls/> and married tennis player Pancho Gonzales.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Samuel Claesson|author-link=|title=Glamour: Models, Mannequins, and Pinups of the 1950s|page=142|publisher=Sequoia Press|date=January 31, 2025|isbn=9798350736847}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Movies=== {{div col|colwidth=26em}} *''Tall Story'' - Frieda Jensen (1960)<ref name=tvguide>[http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/barbara-darrow/207660 Barbara Darrow] at TVguide, retrieved January 28, 2012</ref> *''Queen of Outer Space'' - Kaeel (1958)<ref name=tvguide/> *''The Monster That Challenged the World'' - Jody Sims (1957)<ref name=tvguide/> *''The Mountain'' - Simone (1956)<ref name=tvguide/> *''The Best Things in Life Are Free'' - Brenda (uncredited, 1956) *''Diane'' - Lady in Waiting (uncredited, 1956) *''Susan Slept Here'' - Miss Jennings (1954)<ref>''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110923175107/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1064/Susan-Slept-Here/ Susan Slept Here]'' at TCM Movie Database</ref> *''The French Line'' - Donna Adams (1953) *''Grounds for Marriage'' - Pretty Girl (uncredited, 1951) *''A Life of Her Own'' (uncredited, 1950) {{div col end}}
===Television=== {{div col|colwidth=26em}} *''Switch'' - Nurse, Willie (2 episodes, 1977) *''Doctors Hospital'' - Nurse Forester (1975)<ref name=tvguide/> *''Mission: Impossible'' - Proprietress (1972) *''Love, American Style'' - Helen, Elizabeth (2 segments, 1970–1971) *''Alcoa Theatre'' - ''The Silent Kill'', Linda Hollander (1960) *''Tightrope'' - Lois (1 episode, 1959) *''Markham'' - Helen Dunhill (1 episode, 1959) *''Adventure Showcase'' - Linda Hollander (1 episode, 1959) *''Colt .45'' - Nita (1 episode, 1959) *''M Squad'' - Shelly Dana (1 episode, 1959) *''Peter Gunn'' - Virginia Pelgram (1 episode, 1959) *''The Bob Cummings Show'' - Betty Jean, Lola (2 episodes, 1958–1959) *''Goodyear Theatre'' - Oma Jean (1 episode, 1958) *''Bachelor Father'' - Carol Spencer (1 episode, 1958) *''Mike Hammer'' - Sharon O'Closky (1 episode, 1958) *''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'' - Barbara Parker, Peggy, Sylvia (3 episodes, 1957–1958) *''G.E. True Theater'' - Rita (1 episode, 1957) {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Darrow, Barbara}} Category:1931 births Category:2018 deaths Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Actresses from Los Angeles Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:RKO Pictures contract players Category:21st-century American women Category:Actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles