Barbara Colby
Barbara Colby in Phyllis
Born(1939-07-02)July 2, 1939
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 24, 1975(1975-07-24) (aged 36)
Palms, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of deathGunshot wound
Alma materBard College
OccupationActress
Years active1964−1975

Barbara Colby (July 2, 1939 – July 24, 1975) was an American actress. She appeared in episodes of numerous television series before a 1974 appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show led to a main cast role on the new series Phyllis; after filming three episodes, she and a colleague were murdered outside an acting class, in an unsolved shooting.

Life

Born in New York City on July 2, 1939, Colby was predominantly raised in New Orleans, where she had interest in acting while attending high school. After graduating, she received a scholarship to Bard College in Annandale-On-Hudson, New York, followed by a semester at the Paris-Sorbonne University in France.

Colby started her acting career in the theater. Following a performance in Six Characters in Search of an Author in 1964, she moved to Broadway with a debut in The Devils the following year. Throughout the rest of the decade, she appeared in such plays as Under Milk Wood, Murder in the Cathedral, Dear Liar and A Doll's House and garnered fine reviews for her Portia in Julius Caesar in 1966.

Her first important television role was in the first season of Columbo in an episode titled "Murder by the Book" in 1971. She played many support/guest roles on such established shows as The Odd Couple, McMillan & Wife, The F.B.I., Medical Center, Kung Fu and Gunsmoke.

Colby was a leading actor in the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco for two years.[1] She appeared in 1970s plays such as Aubrey Beardsley the Neophyte, House of Blue Leaves, Afternoon Tea and The Hot l Baltimore. She returned to the classics with an off-Broadway role as Elizabeth in Richard III and was back on Broadway with the plays Murderous Angels in 1971 and a revival of A Doll's House in 1975.[2]

In 1974, Colby appeared in two films, California Split and Memory of Us. In 1975, she co-starred in Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins.

A role as a streetwise prostitute in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show led to an appearance in a subsequent episode. In 1975, Colby appeared as a new regular player on the Mary Tyler Moore Show spin-off Phyllis, starring Cloris Leachman. Colby, who had appeared with Leachman in the TV movie A Brand New Life in 1973, was cast as Leachman's boss, Julie Erskine, the owner of a commercial photography studio.

Personal life

Colby was married to Robert Levitt Jr., whose mother was Ethel Merman. The couple was separated at the time of Colby's death.[3]

Death

On July 24, 1975, Colby and acting colleague James Kiernan were walking to their car following an acting class in Palms, Los Angeles, California, when they were shot inside a parking area.[4] The murders occurred sometime after the first three episodes of the upcoming TV series Phyllis had been filmed.[5]

Colby was killed instantly, but Kiernan was able to describe the shooting to police before he died of his wounds. Kiernan said that he did not recognize the two men who shot them and that the shooting had occurred without warning or provocation. It was normal for Colby and classmates to congregate in the parking lot after acting class and talk. They were approached by two men in a light-colored van and were each shot once.[5]

Police said there was no attempt to rob the pair and concluded it was a random drive-by shooting or a targeted killing. The killers were never identified and the case remained an open cold case.[6]

At the time of her death, Colby was separated from her husband, Bob Levitt, son of Ethel Merman. While the first three episodes of the first season of Phyllis were her final works, all released in September 1975, her final appearance to be released was in the TV movie The Ashes of Mrs. Reasoner, aired in January 1976. Colby's immediate survivors included her mother and half-sister.[3]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1968 Petulia Patient Uncredited
1969 N.Y.P.D. Lila Episodes: "Candy Man (Part 1) & (Part 2)"
1971 Columbo Lilly La Sanka Episode: "Murder by the Book"
The Odd Couple Monique Episode: "Felix, the Calypso Singer"
1972 Look Homeward, Angel Miss Brown TV movie
1973 A Brand New Life Jessica Hiller TV movie
The F.B.I. Marti Episode: "The Exchange"
McMillan & Wife Linda Comsack Episode: "The Devil, You Say"
ABC Afterschool Special Episode: "My Dad Lives in a Downtown Hotel"
1974 Judgment: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg TV movie
Medical Center Mrs. Polumbo Episode: "The Conspirators"
Kung Fu Josie Episode: "The Nature of Evil"
Memory of Us Iris
California Split Receptionist
Gunsmoke Kathy Carter Episode: "The Iron Men"
1974–1975 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Sherry Ferris 2 episodes (season 5)
1975 Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins Young Woman
Phyllis Julie Erskine (original) Main cast (season 1, episodes 1–3)
1976 The Ashes of Mrs. Reasoner Muriel Fenton TV movie

See also

References

  1. ↑ Weisman, John (March 8, 1970). "Barbara Colby: New Breed of Professional Repertory Actress". Los Angeles Times. p. 398. Retrieved June 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Barbara Colby". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Taylor, Robert (November 12, 1972). "The Return of Barbara Colby". Oakland Tribune. p. 149. Retrieved June 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Six Youths Seized in Three Slayings And Thefts on Coast". The New York Times. United Press International. July 26, 1975. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "The Unsolved Murder of Barbara Colby". The Life & Times of Hollywood. March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Liz Torres joined cast of 'Mary Tyler Moore' spin-off Phyllis after the tragedy". TV Journal. Winston-Salem Journal. March 13, 2004. p. 8.
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