Barbara Bates

Born in Denver, Co, 6 August, 1925 and originally named Barbara Jane Bates, Barbara was the eldest of 3 daughters born to a postal clerk and RN. Rather shy, her mother initially sent Barbara to study ballet. By her late teens, the young beauty began to model clothes as a teen out of high school. Fighting off a life-long paralyzing shyness,she managed to be persuaded to enter a local beauty contest, with the winner receiving 2 round-trip train tickets to Hollywood. Barbara won the contest, and with that the demure but very troubled young woman was on the first steps of her career. Once in California, she met Cecil Coan, a United Artists publicist. Coan, a married man with children who was more than two decades older than Barbara, fell hard for the young beauty. He promised to guide her career and make her a star. He proved his worth and dedication to her when he left his wife and married Barbara. Groomed in obscure starlet bits, it wasn't until Warner Bros. signed her in 1947 and perpetuated an appealing girl-next-door image when her career started happening. It took some time before the actress started making strides apart from the bobby-soxxer ingénue. She turned heads and supported herself initially as a pin-up girl, a job she didn't enjoy. She rose in rank after a number of bit parts and, during her peak as a lead and second lead, appeared opposite a number of stars, including Bette Davis in June Bride (1948), Danny Kaye in The Inspector General (1949), Rory Calhoun in I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1951), and even Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in their comedy,The Caddy (1953) just to name a few. Much of Barbara's work in the above films was routine. Barbara's on-and-off-screen life started unraveling not long afterward. Succumbing to extreme mood shifts, insecurity, ill health and chronic depression to the point of being taken off important film assignments. By age 30, the promise she had shown was note even considered washed up, and she and her husband Coen, who made all of Barbara's decisions for her, tried to salvage her career in England. Things looked promising at first, when she was picked up by the Rank Organisation and co-starred with John Mills and Michael Craig in a couple of dramatic suspense films, but the films were mediocre. She again started showing signs of instability to the point where she was dropped from 2 films and the Rank Organisation was forced to drop her. The couple returned to Hollywood, where old friend Rory Calhoun cast her in a picture he was producing and starring in called Apache Territory (1958). Emotionally unable to withstand the pressures of Hollywood any more, Barbara abandoned her career, save for an appearance in The Saint: The Loaded Tourist (1962),starring Roger Moore. Nothing was heard of Barbara until her March 1969 death. It was learned she'd returned to her hometown of Denver and worked in various jobs, including stints as a secretary, dental assistant and hospital aide. Her much older husband and chief supporter, Cecil Coan, died of cancer in January 1967, and Barbara fell apart. Although she remarried in December of 1968 to a childhood friend, sportscaster William Reed, she remained increasingly despondent. She committed suicide just 4 months later. She was found dead in her car by her mother in her mother's garage of carbon monoxide poisoning. Interestingly, the one role she'll always be identified with is also one of the smallest parts given her during her brief tenure as leading lady. In the very last scene of All About Eve (1950). Barbara turns up in the role of Phoebe, a devious school girl and wannabe actress who shows startling promise as a future schemer along the lines of her equally ruthless idol, Eve Harrington, superbly played by Anne Baxter. Barbara's image is enshrined in the picture's very last scene - posing in front of a 3-way mirror while clutching Baxter's just-received acting award. It's this brief, moment for which she'll best be remembered.