Priscilla Pointer
Encyclopedia
Priscilla Pointer is an American
stage, film and television character actress. She began her career in the theater, including productions on Broadway
. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood to act in films and on television. She is the mother of Academy Award nominee Amy Irving
, the former mother-in-law of filmmakers Steven Spielberg
and Bruno Barreto
and the mother-in-law of documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser, Jr.
, the daughter of Augusta Leonora (née
Davis), an artist and illustrator, and Kenneth K. Pointer, an artist. Pointer is of Welsh
and Cherokee
descent. Pointer is the mother of director David Irving, actress Amy Irving
and singer Katie Irving, who performed two songs heard in the prom sequence in Carrie.
Pointer was married to film and stage director Jules Irving, former artistic director of the Lincoln Center, from 1947 until his death in 1979. In 1980, she married actor/director/producer Robert Symonds
, who had been Jules Irving's producing partner at the Lincoln Center. She appeared several times in stage productions alongside Symonds and they remained married until the latter's death in 2007.
, The Onion Field
(1979), Mommie Dearest
(1981), Twilight Zone: The Movie
(1983), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
(1987), David Lynch
's Blue Velvet and Coyote Moon (1999). In addition to Carrie, she has played onscreen mother to real-life daughter Amy twice again: in Honeysuckle Rose
(1980) and Carried Away (1996).
Pointer appeared in three films that her son, David Irving, directed: Rumpelstiltskin
(a 1987 musical version, which starred her daughter), Good-Bye Cruel World and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.
.
Pointer's first starring television role was on Where the Heart Is
as "Adrienne Harris Rainey" (1972–73). She has made many guest appearances on television, including such series as Adam-12
, L.A. Law
, The A-Team
, Judging Amy
, The Rockford Files
, and Cold Case.
During the 1980s, Pointer had a recurring role on the television show Dallas
, as Rebecca Wentworth, the mother of Cliff Barnes
(Ken Kercheval
) and Pamela Barnes Ewing
(Victoria Principal
).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage, film and television character actress. She began her career in the theater, including productions on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood to act in films and on television. She is the mother of Academy Award nominee Amy Irving
Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
, the former mother-in-law of filmmakers Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
and Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto is a Brazilian film director born in Rio de Janeiro. He has been making feature-length films ever since he was seventeen years old and remains one of Brazil’s most accomplished and popular directors to this day...
and the mother-in-law of documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser, Jr.
Personal life
Pointer was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the daughter of Augusta Leonora (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Davis), an artist and illustrator, and Kenneth K. Pointer, an artist. Pointer is of Welsh
Welsh American
Welsh Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Wales. In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans had Welsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U.S. population. This compares with a population of 3 million in Wales. However,...
and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
descent. Pointer is the mother of director David Irving, actress Amy Irving
Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
and singer Katie Irving, who performed two songs heard in the prom sequence in Carrie.
Pointer was married to film and stage director Jules Irving, former artistic director of the Lincoln Center, from 1947 until his death in 1979. In 1980, she married actor/director/producer Robert Symonds
Robert Symonds
Robert Symonds was an American actor. He was the associate director of the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center from 1965 through 1972.-Career:...
, who had been Jules Irving's producing partner at the Lincoln Center. She appeared several times in stage productions alongside Symonds and they remained married until the latter's death in 2007.
Career
Pointer has appeared in many films, including Carrie (1976), in which she played the onscreen mother of her real-life daughter Amy IrvingAmy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
, The Onion Field
The Onion Field (film)
The Onion Field is a 1979 American drama film directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Joseph Wambaugh is based on his 1973 true crime novel of the same title...
(1979), Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest (film)
Mommie Dearest is a 1981 American biographical drama film about Joan Crawford, starring Faye Dunaway. The film was directed by Frank Perry. The story was adapted for the screen by Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, and Frank Yablans, based on the 1978 autobiography of the same name by...
(1981), Twilight Zone: The Movie
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 science fiction horror film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1959 and '60s TV series created by Rod Serling. Those starring in the film are: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers,...
(1983), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 slasher film and the third film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Chuck Russell and starred Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Robert Englund and Patricia Arquette in her first role.- Plot :Six years after the events...
(1987), David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's Blue Velvet and Coyote Moon (1999). In addition to Carrie, she has played onscreen mother to real-life daughter Amy twice again: in Honeysuckle Rose
Honeysuckle Rose (film)
Honeysuckle Rose is a 1980 romantic drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
(1980) and Carried Away (1996).
Pointer appeared in three films that her son, David Irving, directed: Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin is the eponymous character and protagonist of a fairy tale which originated in Germany . The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales...
(a 1987 musical version, which starred her daughter), Good-Bye Cruel World and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. is a 1989 comedy horror film, directed by David K. Irving, written by M. Kane Jeeves and stars Brian Robbins, Tricia Leigh Fisher and Bianca Jagger.-Plot:...
.
Pointer's first starring television role was on Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1969 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is an American soap opera telecast on the CBS television network from September 8, 1969 to March 23, 1973. Created by Lou Scofield and Margaret DePriest, the program ran for 25 minutes, the remaining five minutes of its timeslot ceded to a CBS news break.Scofield and DePriest...
as "Adrienne Harris Rainey" (1972–73). She has made many guest appearances on television, including such series as Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
, L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
, Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...
, The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
, and Cold Case.
During the 1980s, Pointer had a recurring role on the television show Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
, as Rebecca Wentworth, the mother of Cliff Barnes
Cliff Barnes
Clifford "Cliff" Barnes, played by Ken Kercheval, was a character on the popular American television series Dallas. The Barnes family were competitors and sometimes enemies of the Ewing family. Cliff was the son of Willard "Digger" Barnes and Rebecca Barnes Wentworth. J.R. Ewing was Cliff's...
(Ken Kercheval
Ken Kercheval
Ken Kercheval is an American actor, best known for his role as Cliff Barnes on the television series Dallas....
) and Pamela Barnes Ewing
Pamela Barnes Ewing
Pamela Jean "Pam" Barnes is a fictional character in the popular American television series Dallas, played by Victoria Principal and Margaret Michaels.-Early pre-series life:...
(Victoria Principal
Victoria Principal
Victoria Principal is an American actress, best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime drama Dallas from 1978 to 1987.-Early life:...
).
Filmography
- Carrie (1976)
- Looking for Mr. GoodbarLooking for Mr. GoodbarLooking for Mr. Goodbar is a 1975 novel by Judith Rossner. Rossner based the novel on the events surrounding the brutal murder of Roseann Quinn, a 28-year-old New York City schoolteacher in 1973.-References:...
(1977) - DallasDallas (TV series)Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
(1981–1983) - The Onion FieldThe Onion Field (film)The Onion Field is a 1979 American drama film directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Joseph Wambaugh is based on his 1973 true crime novel of the same title...
(1979) - The CompetitionThe Competition (film)The Competition is a 1980 American drama film starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving, directed by Joel Oliansky.-Plot:Paul Dietrich is an extremely gifted but disillusioned classical pianist, running out of time to prove himself...
(1980) - Honeysuckle RoseHoneysuckle Rose (film)Honeysuckle Rose is a 1980 romantic drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
(1980) - Mommie DearestMommie Dearest (film)Mommie Dearest is a 1981 American biographical drama film about Joan Crawford, starring Faye Dunaway. The film was directed by Frank Perry. The story was adapted for the screen by Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, and Frank Yablans, based on the 1978 autobiography of the same name by...
(1981) - Twilight Zone: The MovieTwilight Zone: The MovieTwilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 science fiction horror film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1959 and '60s TV series created by Rod Serling. Those starring in the film are: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers,...
(1983) - The Falcon and the SnowmanThe Falcon and the SnowmanThe Falcon and the Snowman is a 1985 film directed by John Schlesinger about two young American men, Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee , who sold U.S. security secrets to the Soviet Union...
(1985) - Blue Velvet (1986)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream WarriorsA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream WarriorsA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 slasher film and the third film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Chuck Russell and starred Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Robert Englund and Patricia Arquette in her first role.- Plot :Six years after the events...
(1987) - From the HipFrom the Hip (film)From the Hip, is a 1987 comedy film directed by Bob Clark from a screenplay by Bob Clark and David E. Kelley. The film stars Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins and John Hurt. Nelson's performance earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor....
(1987) - C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. is a 1989 comedy horror film, directed by David K. Irving, written by M. Kane Jeeves and stars Brian Robbins, Tricia Leigh Fisher and Bianca Jagger.-Plot:...
(1989) - DisturbedDisturbed (film)Disturbed is a 1990 American horror film directed by Charles Winkler starring Malcolm McDowell as a perverted psychiatrist who rapes a young woman in his care, then must deal with his vengeance-seeking daughter 10 years later.-Plot:...
(1990) - Unbecoming AgeUnbecoming AgeUnbecoming Age, also known as The Magic Bubble, is a 1992 American comedy film starring George Clooney and Diane Salinger.The film tells the story of woman who, for her 40th birthday, wishes to forget how old she is...
(1992) - Painted DesertPainted DesertPainted Desert may refer to:In places:* Painted Desert, Arizona, an area of badlands in the southwestern United States* Painted Desert , a mountainous area in south-central Australia...
(1993) - ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(1994) as Mrs Abernathy - Alone (1997)
- Desert Heat (aka Coyote Moon) (1999)