Barbara Anderson (actress) explained

Barbara Anderson
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Other Names:Barbara Anderson Burnett
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:1966–1993

Barbara Anderson is a retired American actress who portrayed police officer Eve Whitfield on the television series Ironside (1967–1971), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award.

Early life

Anderson was born in Brooklyn, New York.[1] Her father, George Anderson, was a Navy enlisted man.[2] [3]

Anderson became interested in acting during her teens, when she did a Tennessee Williams play.[4] While she was a student at Memphis State University, Anderson won the title of Miss Memphis in 1963.[5] Anderson was an actress with the Front Street Repertory Theatre, and debuted professionally in Memphis with the Southwestern University Players. Later, she acted with the Los Angeles Art Theatre.

Television

Anderson decided to move to Los Angeles. In 1966, one of her first TV appearances came in a first-season episode of Star Trek, "The Conscience of the King".

She premiered her Eve Whitfield character in the March 1967 Ironside TV movie, and continued the role when the series debuted in September. That same week in September, she had a featured role in the first episode of the TV series Mannix.[6]

Anderson was one of the four original cast members of Ironside and was the lead actress in the series for the first 105 episodes. Anderson played the role of one of two police officers chosen to assist Robert Ironside (Raymond Burr), former chief of detectives for San Francisco, after he lost the use of his legs due to a shooting. Anderson continued in her role as Officer Whitfield for four seasons.[7] For her role on the show, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1968.

Her later performances include the wife of a man who inherits a notoriously haunted house in the Night Gallery episode "Fright Night" and as a witness to a mob hit in the Harry O episode "Material Witness". She accepted a recurring role (seven episodes) in the final season of Mission Impossible.

Anderson continued to work, though, accepting supporting roles in several TV movies, including 1977's You Lie So Deep, My Love (where she was reunited with former Ironside co-star Don Galloway).[8] She also accepted guest roles on popular TV shows of the period including The Love Boat, Wonder Woman, and Marcus Welby, M.D.. In 1993, Anderson reunited with her former Ironside co-stars for the TV movie Return of Ironside, reprising her role as Eve Whitfield, now the mother of a daughter.

Personal life

In 1971, Anderson married actor Don Burnett and left the TV series Ironside to devote time to her marriage.[9]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1966The VirginianSarah CraytonEpisode: "The Challenge"
1966JerichoCorporal Victoria BannonEpisode: "Four O'Clock Bomb to London"
1966LenoreS1:E13, "The Conscience of the King"
1966–1967The Road WestBarbara / Susan Douglass2 episodes
1967LaredoDella SnillyEpisode: "The Other Cheek"
1967IronsideEve WhitfieldTelevision film
1967MannixAngela DubrioEpisode: "The Name Is Mannix"
1967–1971InsightKathy3 episodes
1967–1971IronsideOfficer Eve WhitfieldMain role, 105 episodes
1970Paris 7000Ellen / Lee2 episodes
1970The Red Skelton ShowRick's MollEpisode: "Freddie's Desperate Hour"
1970–1974Marcus Welby, M.D.Julie Haynes / Marcy2 episodes
1972Mission: ImpossibleMimi Davis7 episodes
1972Visions...Susan SchaefferTelevision film
1972Night GalleryLeona OgilvyEpisode: "Fright Night"
1973The Six Million Dollar ManJean Manners(Television film) Season 1/Episode 1 & 2 - The Moon and the Desert
1973Don't Be Afraid of the DarkJoan KahnTelevision film
1973Medical CenterBettyEpisode: "The Casualty"
1973The Wide World of MysteryMaggie ClarkEpisode: "Murder and the Computer"
1974Owen Marshall, Counselor at LawCarolEpisode: "To Keep and Bear Arms"
1974Strange HomecomingElaine HalseyTelevision film
1974Harry ODr. Noelle KiraEpisode: "Material Witness"
1975Amy PrentissLenoreEpisode: "Profile in Evil"
1975Police StoryRita WagnerEpisode: "To Steal a Million"
1975You Lie So Deep, My LoveSusan CollinsTelevision film
1975The Invisible ManPaula SimonEpisode: "Eyes Only"
1977GibbsvilleEpisode: "Manhood"
1977Wonder WomanMaggie RobbinsEpisode: "Last of the $2 Bills"
1977Carla StanleyTelevision film
1977SwitchDana WallaceEpisode: "Net Loss"
1978Doctors' Private LivesFrances LatimerTelevision film
1978The Love BoatKaren WilliamsonEpisode: "Ship of Ghouls"
1979Hawaii Five-ODorothy MeighanEpisode: "The Meighan Conspiracy"
1982Star of the FamilyEpisode: "Save My Life, Please"
1983Simon & SimonCeleste DunnEpisode: "Design for Killing"
1988Annabelle 'Annie' CartwrightTelevision film
1993The Return of IronsideEve WhitfieldTelevision film

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
1968Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesIronside
1969
1970

Notes and References

  1. News: Barbara Anderson: She Bruises Easily. Pasadena Independent Star-News. May 12, 1968. California, Pasadena. 74, TV Week p.20. Newspapers.com. January 5, 2016.
  2. News: Hall. Clara. The 'New Ironsides' Look. East Liverpool Review. May 31, 1968. 1. Newspapers.com. 2021-10-15.
  3. News: Former Miss Memphis Stars Again. Kingsport Times. September 16, 1970. 2-D. Newspapers.com. 2021-10-15.
  4. News: Actress Persists in Career. North Adams Transcript. July 16, 1969. S-6 TV. Newspapers.com. 2021-10-15.
  5. Web site: Miss Memphis 1963: Barbara Anderson. MissMemphisPageant.com. August 21, 2014. January 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130105061333/http://www.missmemphispageant.com/history/1963.html. dead.
  6. Web site: The six greatest 'Mannix' episodes, according to a superfan . January 27, 2017 . . January 27, 2017.
  7. News: Annual "Spring Nationals" to be telecast tomorrow . 14 . . Louisville, Ky . June 12, 1971 . March 1, 2018 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Deadly Triangle. The Robesonian. October 23, 1977. Lumberton, NC. 9.
  9. News: Oppenheimer. Peer J.. Why I Quit TV for Home and Hearth. The Danville Register. July 18, 1971. Family Weekly 12. Newspapers.com. January 5, 2016.