Post by RiP, IMDb on Aug 22, 2018 0:38:25 GMT
Barbara Harris was such an awesome lady, from Evanston, Illinois. She was friends with Alan Alda who was also a member of Second City in Chicago. They worked together on stage in the 1960s and on screen in the 1970s. May she rest in peace.
"Second City credits her as a founder of modern improv and a co-founder of the troupe. Funny and sexy, she blended the kittenish quality of Tuesday Weld with a knowing daffiness reminiscent of Madeline Kahn or Judy Holliday. The blog Media Funhouse once labeled her “the Garbo of adorable urban neurotic Sixties actresses.”
Yet she was an original whose performances were memorable for their vulnerability and authenticity. She danced with grace and had a bell-like singing voice that could veer into an Ethel Merman-style growl. Without seeming twitchy or trying too hard, she stole scenes with little bits of business — ahead toss, a single tear or an offbeat musical note.
Broadway legend Mary Martin described her freshness and versatility when she was introducing the nominees at the 1967 Tony awards, at which Ms. Harris won for her performance in “The Apple Tree.” “Her ability to give the impression she was making up her lines as she went along, I was so excited about what I saw, her somehow intangible quality,” Martin said."
Yet she was an original whose performances were memorable for their vulnerability and authenticity. She danced with grace and had a bell-like singing voice that could veer into an Ethel Merman-style growl. Without seeming twitchy or trying too hard, she stole scenes with little bits of business — ahead toss, a single tear or an offbeat musical note.
Broadway legend Mary Martin described her freshness and versatility when she was introducing the nominees at the 1967 Tony awards, at which Ms. Harris won for her performance in “The Apple Tree.” “Her ability to give the impression she was making up her lines as she went along, I was so excited about what I saw, her somehow intangible quality,” Martin said."
- Maureen O'Donnell, The Chicago Sun-Times
R.I.P.