Barbara Lang
Encyclopedia
Barbara Lang was an American
actress and singer. During the 1950s she was one of the many "B"-level blondes to be promoted as a Marilyn Monroe
type.
at the age of seventeen. She was also a pianist and singer for a time in a cocktail lounge.
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 reportedly credited faith for performing a miracle
. Shortly after being stricken, her legs and facial muscles were paralyzed, and she had difficulty speaking
. The lingering effect she experienced most was tiring easily.
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.
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
showgirl of the 1930s.
(1957), Maverick
(1958), The Bob Cummings Show
(1958), 77 Sunset Strip
(1959), Lawman
(1959), Tightrope (1959), The Outlaws
(1960), Car 54, Where Are You?
(1962), Charlie's Angels
(1981), and Mr. Belvedere
(1987).
, Lang depicted a correctly poised and proper Hope Harcourt at the Orpheum Theatre in May 1962.
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, as Miss Adelaide. The show played for seven performances in Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts
, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. She appeared in So Long, 174th Street (April 1976) and The Robber Bridegroom
(October 1976), both on Broadway. In a revival of Mame (1983), Lang played "Sally Cato".
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
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and singer. During the 1950s she was one of the many "B"-level blondes to be promoted as a Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
type.
Early life
She worked a number of jobs prior to breaking into the entertainment industry. She sold jewelry in a Los Angeles department store and was a part-time fashion Model (person)Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
at the age of seventeen. She was also a pianist and singer for a time in a cocktail lounge.
Illness
Lang suffered an attack of poliomyelitisPoliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
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
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
during this time and reportedly credited faith for performing a miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
. Shortly after being stricken, her legs and facial muscles were paralyzed, and she had difficulty speaking
Manner of articulation
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
. The lingering effect she experienced most was tiring easily.
Film
She first came to the attention of Hollywood producers with appearances in six Death Valley DaysDeath Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
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.
Lang was at first named to star opposite Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in Jailhouse Rock
Jailhouse Rock (1957 film)
Jailhouse Rock is an American musical film directed by Richard Thorpe for MGM. The film stars Elvis Presley in his third film and MGM debut, Judy Tyler, and Mickey Shaughnessy....
. Before being cast the movie was tentatively entitled Jailhouse Kid. In the Joe Pasternak
Joe Pasternak
thumb|right|250px|Pasterrnak receiving his star on [[Hollywood Boulevard]] from [[Johnny Grant |Johnny Grant]] with [[Gene Kelly]] on the left on July 29, 1991....
production of Party Girl (1958), Lang played "Ginger D'Amour", a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
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 ManThe Thin Man (TV series)
The Thin Man is a half-hour weekly television series based on the mystery novel The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The 72 episodes were produced by MGM Television and shown on NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959 on Friday evening.-Overview:...
(1957), Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
(1958), The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...
(1958), 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
(1959), Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
(1959), Tightrope (1959), The Outlaws
The Outlaws (1960 TV series)
Outlaws is an NBC Western television series, starring Barton MacLane as U.S. marshal Frank Caine, who operated in a lawless section of Oklahoma Territory about Stillwater. The program aired 50 one-hour episodes from September 29, 1960, to May 10, 1962. The first season was shot in black-and-white,...
(1960), Car 54, Where Are You?
Car 54, Where Are You?
Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...
(1962), Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
(1981), and Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985, until July 8, 1990. The series was based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty...
(1987).
Theater
In a revival of the musical, Anything GoesAnything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
, Lang depicted a correctly poised and proper Hope Harcourt at the Orpheum Theatre in May 1962.
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, as Miss Adelaide. The show played for seven performances in Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts
Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts
Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center and concert hall located at 600 Penn Avenue in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Home to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, the 2,676 seat hall presents about 200 performances each...
, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. She appeared in So Long, 174th Street (April 1976) and The Robber Bridegroom
The Robber Bridegroom (musical)
The Robber Bridegroom is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry and music by Robert Waldman. The story is based on the 1942 novella by Eudora Welty of the same name, with a Robin Hood-like hero; the adaptation placed it in a late 18th century American setting...
(October 1976), both on Broadway. In a revival of Mame (1983), Lang played "Sally Cato".
Personal life
In November 1958 Lang won an annulmentAnnulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
of her two-year marriage to actor Alan Wells. The decree was granted on grounds that Wells married Lang in Ensenada, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, ten months before his divorce from actress Claudia Barrett was final. Lang and Wells met when she played in Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
.
Acting credits
- Death Valley DaysDeath Valley DaysDeath Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
(1955-56) 3 appearances - Hot Summer Night (1957) (uncredited)
- House of Numbers (1957)
- The Thin Man (1957) 1 episode
- MaverickMaverick (TV series)Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
(1958) 1 episode - Party GirlParty Girl (1958 film)Party Girl is a film noir filmed in Metrocolor and CinemaScope. The film was directed by Nicholas Ray and starred Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, and Lee J. Cobb. Charisse performs two dance routines in the gangster film...
(1958) - The Bob Cummings ShowThe Bob Cummings ShowThe Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...
(1958) 1 episode - 77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
(1959) 1 episode - LawmanLawman (tv series)Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
(1959) 4 episodes - Tightrope (1959) 1 episode
- Outlaws (1960) 1 episode
- Car 54, Where Are You?Car 54, Where Are You?Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...
(1962) 1 episode - Charlie's AngelsCharlie's AngelsCharlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
(1981) 1 episode - Mr. Belverdere (1987) 1 episode