Barbara Lang

Infobox actor
name = Barbara Lang
birthdate = birth date|1928|3|2
birthplace = Hollywood, California, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|1982|7|22|1928|3|2|mf=y
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Barbara Lang (March 2, 1928 – July 22, 1982) was an American television and motion picture actress who was born in Hollywood, California.

Lang was the daughter of silent film dancer, Maureen Knight, and a deceased Los Angeles, California nose drop bottler, Stannage Bly.

Early life

She worked a number of jobs prior to breaking into the entertainment industry. She sold jewelry in a Los Angeles departmentstore and was a part-time fashion Model (person) at the age of seventeen. She was also a pianist and singer for a time in a cocktail lounge.

Music

Lang had a fine singing voice. However, aside from a six-month tenure as a "saloon singer", at the Tioga Hotel in Merced, California, she disliked nightclubs. Mostly she detested men making unwanted advances toward her, the tedious conversation, and the atmosphere of clubs. Sometimes she stuck labels on bottles between singing engagements.

Illness

Lang suffered an attack of poliomyelitis in late 1953. She spent three weeks in the polio ward of Los Angeles General Hospital. Another eight months were required to convalesce. Lang was told that she might never walk again. She turned to the Bible during this time and credits faith for performing a miracle. Shortly after being stricken, Lang's legs and facial muscles were paralyzed, and she had difficulty speaking. The lingering effect she experienced most was tiring easily.

Career

Film

She first came to the attention of Hollywood producers with appearances in six "Death Valley Days" telefilms (1955-1956). Half a dozen motion picture studios vied to sign Lang after her telefilm performances. She inked a long-term contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and was assigned to dramatic school. As a new star for MGM Lang played the feminine lead in "House of Numbers" (1957). The movie was the first motion picture to be filmed entirely inside the walls of San Quentin Prison. The plot dealt with the escape of a man over the walls of the prison.

Lang was at first named to star opposite Elvis Presley in "JailHouse Rock". Before being cast the movie was tentatively entitled "Jailhouse Kid".

In the Joe Pasternak production of "Party Girl" (1958), Lang played "Ginger D'Amour", a Chicago, Illinois showgirl of the 1930s.

Television

After surviving and recovering from polio, Lang went into television work. Her TV credits are numerous. She is in episodes of "The Thin Man (TV series)" (1957), "Maverick" (1958), "77 Sunset Strip" (1959), "Lawman" (1959), "Tightrope" (1959), "Outlaws" (1960), "Car 54, Where Are You?" (1962), "Charlie's Angels" (1981), and "Mr. Belvedere" (1987).

Theater

In a revival of the musical, "Anything Goes", Lang depicted "a correctly poised and proper Hope Harcourt." Presented at the Orpheum Theater in May 1962, the production featured Eileen Rodgers as its leading lady.

Lang was in the cast of "Guys and Dolls" when it was produced by the Civic Light Opera in its twenty-eighth season of musical theater, in 1975. Her character was "Adelaide", the fiancee of "Nathan Detroit". The show played for seven performances in Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

She was in "So Long, 174th Street" ( April 1976) and "The Robber Bridegroom" (October 1976). The theatrical presentations were staged on Broadway (Manhattan), at the Harkness Theater and Biltmore Theater, respectively.

In a revival of "Mame" (1983), Lang portrayed the character "Sally Cato". The title role, "Mame Dennis", was performed by Angela Lansbury.

Personal life

In November 1958 Lang, 26, won an annulment of her two-year marriage to actor Alan Wells. The decree was granted on grounds that Wells married Lang in Ensenada, Mexico, ten months before his divorce from actress Claudia Barrett was final. Lang and Wells met when she played in "Death Valley Days".

References

* "Burlington, North Carolina Daily Times-News", "Polio Didn't Stop Barbara Lang", April 26, 1957, Page 4.
* "Indiana County Gazette", "Guys and Dolls To Open Season", July 7, 1975, Page 26.
* "Long Beach Press-Telegram", November 11, 1956, Page 170.
* "Lowell Sun", "Barbara Lang Wins Annulment", November 4, 1958, Page 6.
* "New York Times", "Theater: Anything Goes", May 16, 1962, Page 35.
* "New York Times", "So Long, 174th Street Is New Musical At The Harkeness", April 28, 1976, Page 30.
* "New York Times", "Robber Bridegroom Sparkles At Biltmore", October 11, 1976, Page 34.
* "New York Times", "Stage: Angela Lansbury Stars In Mame Revival", July 25, 1983, Page C11.
* "Oakland Tribune", "San Quentin Drama On Fox Screen", Friday, October 18, 1957, Page E45.
* "Syracuse Herald Journal", "Hollywood and TV Close-Ups", June 1, 1958, Page 98.

External links

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