Barbara Darrow: Movies & Box Office

Barbara Darrow (November 18, 1931 – August 26, 2018) was an American motion picture and television actress whose career spanned nearly three decades during the golden age of Hollywood. Born in Hollywood, California, to George H. Wittlinger, a motion-picture landscape artist, and Alice Simpson Wittlinger, a former silent-screen actress, Darrow was immersed in the film industry from an early age. She graduated from Hollywood High School before pursuing modeling work, which eventually led to offers of film contracts. On August 31, 1950, a judge approved her seven-year contract with RKO Studios, marking the beginning of her professional acting career. Darrow borrowed her stage name from her uncle, John Darrow, a silent-film star who successfully transitioned into talent representation. She became one of only three actors under contract to RKO by 1955, a testament to her standing at the studio during a tumultuous period in its history.

During her career, Darrow became known for her roles in B-movies throughout the 1950s, including notable appearances in The Monster That Challenged the World and Queen of Outer Space, the latter of which she was part of the female-led cast. She replaced Marla English opposite the legendary Spencer Tracy in the 1956 film The Mountain after English suffered an adverse reaction to a smallpox vaccine, demonstrating her ability to step into high-profile roles on short notice. Beyond the silver screen, Darrow made numerous television appearances on popular shows of the era, including The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Bachelor Father, The Bob Cummings Show, M Squad, and Peter Gunn. She later portrayed Nurse Forester in the NBC medical drama Doctors' Hospital in 1975, with her final television roles appearing in Switch in 1977. On a personal note, Darrow married Thomas David Tannenbaum, son of former Beverly Hills mayor David Tannenbaum and a talent agent who later became the founding president of Viacom, on September 28, 1956. The couple remained married until Tannenbaum's death on December 1, 2001, and had three children together. Her youngest daughter Audrey married Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee's only child, Dodd Darin, while her son Eric Tannenbaum became president of Columbia TriStar Television at age 33 and later executive produced Two and a Half Men. Her older sister, Madelyn Darrow, was also a model who married tennis legend Pancho Gonzales. Darrow passed away on August 26, 2018, from a heart attack at the age of 86, leaving behind a legacy deeply intertwined with some of the most influential figures in entertainment history.