Barbara Lang (film actress)

Barbara Lang (March 2, 1928 – July 22, 1982) was an American actress and singer.

This article is about the film actress. For the theatre actress, see Barbara Lang (Broadway actress).
Barbara Lang
Lang in 1958
Born
Barbara Jean Bly

(1928-03-02)March 2, 1928
Hollywood, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 22, 1982(1982-07-22) (aged 54)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active1955–1981
Spouse(s)William McCorkle (1946–1952; divorced)
Alan Wells (1956–1958; annulled)
John George (1967–1972; divorced)[1]
Children2

Early life

Lang was a student at Eagle Rock High School and acted in little theater.[2] 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 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 poliomyelitis[2] 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 credited faith for performing a miracle.[2] 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.

Lang began singing in night clubs to pay her medical debts. She was a self-taught vocalist who trusted her accompanist to select each song's key and pitch. She eventually began singing regularly in Portland and San Francisco.[2]

Career

Film

She first came to the attention of Hollywood producers with appearances in six Death Valley Days episodes (1955–1956). Half a dozen motion picture studios vied to sign Lang thereafter. In 1957, she signed a contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer[3] and was assigned to dramatic school. As a new star for MGM Lang played the feminine lead in House of Numbers (1957), co-starring with Jack Palance.[3] It was filmed inside San Quentin Prison and in Mill Valley, California.

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.

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 (1957), the episode "Escape to Tampico" in Maverick (1958), The Bob Cummings Show (1958), 77 Sunset Strip (1959), Lawman (1959), Tightrope (1959), and Outlaws (1960), among others.

Personal life

In November 1958 Lang 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.

She died at age 54, reportedly from pneumonia.

Acting credits

References
  1. "Barbara Lang - The Private Life and Times of Barbara Lang. Barbara Lang Pictures". Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  2. "Barbara Kept Faith -- Won". Arizona Republic. Arizona, Phoenix. September 22, 1957. p. 44. Retrieved August 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Victoria". Shamokin News-Dispatch. Pennsylvania, Shamokin. October 17, 1957. p. 8. Retrieved August 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Burlington, North Carolina Daily Times-News, "Polio Didn't Stop Barbara Lang", April 26, 1957, Page 4.
  • Long Beach Press-Telegram, November 11, 1956, Page 170.
  • Lowell Sun, "Barbara Lang Wins Annulment", November 4, 1958, p. 6
  • Oakland Tribune, "San Quentin Drama On Fox Screen", Friday, October 18, 1957, p. E45
  • Syracuse Herald Journal, Hollywood and TV Close-Ups, June 1, 1958, p. 98
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