Barbara Babcock
About
Biography
Filmography
Notes
Babcock has traveled the Amazon studying monkeys and feasted on fried termites in Kenya while on archeological and anthropoligical treks.
"There's an inner radiance that is ageless in Barbara. A luminesence that comes through her beautiful pale skin." --Beth Sullivan, executive producer and creator, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" quoted in People, May 9, 1994.
Biography
Willowy, with an airy frame, but capable of projecting toughness as well as tightly-wound characters, Barbara Babcock was a "working actress" for two decades before a recurring guest role on "Hill Street Blues" in the early 1980s turned her into a TV star. On "Hill Street," Babcock was tough Grace Gardner, hounding Sgt. Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) until she had him. "Tough" seems to be a word threaded through Babcock's personal life as well. The daughter of the US Army General, she was raised in Tokyo and spoke Japanese before English. On screen, Babcock seems very much the "lady." Her early career included guest spots on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (CBS) as a cousin to the rich boy nemesis of the title character. Babcock's deep, cultured voice earned both an appearance on "Star Trek" in the mid-60s as well as several voice-overs for that series.
Babcock began working in TV-movies and, less often, in feature films, in the 70s. Perhaps her best known role was the team owner who slyly suggested a homosexual liaison between Michael Moriarty and Robert De Niro in "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973). She also appeared in "The Black Marble" (1980), "The Lords of Discipline' (1983), Emilio Estevez's "That Was Then ... This Is Now" (1985) and Ron Howard's "Far and Away" as Nicole Kidman's mother.
With her regular role as Liz Craig on "Dallas" (CBS, 1978-82), Babcock became steadily employed. But it was as Grace Gardner--originally a one-shot guest appearance--on "Hill Street Blues" that Babcock earned a berth on top casting lists in Hollywood. Armed with an Emmy, she attempted a find a more permanent series slot, but both "The Four Seasons" (CBS, 1984) and "Mr. Sunshine" (ABC, 1986) were short-lived. A later effort as Jerry Orbach's charmingly unpleasant nemesis on "The Law and Harry McGraw" (CBS, 1987-88) lasted only half a season. Babcock portrayed sympathetic mothers in TV TV-movies such as "Salem's Lot" (CBS, 1979) and "Quarterback Princess" (CBS, 1983) and she made occasional guest appearances on series such as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Golden Girls." With her air of refinement tempered by a steel spine, Babcock was well cast as the pioneer newswoman opposite Jane Seymour's "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (CBS, 1993-98).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1960
TV debut, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" as Pamela Osborne (date approximate)
1966
Played "Mea3" in "A Taste of Armageddon" episode of "Star Trek"
1968
Film debut, "Day of the Evil Gun"
1971
TV-movie debut, "The Last Child"
1973
Played team owner in "Bang the Drum Slowly"
1978
Played recurring role of Liz Craig on "Dallas" (CBS)
1984
Co-starred as Lorraine Elliot, a medical professor, on the CBS sitcom "The Four Seasons"
1986
Featured as the flighty landlord June Swinford on the ABC sitcom "Mr. Sunshine" (1986)
2001
Returned to series work as co-star of the Fox fall primetime serial "Pasadena"
Videos
Trailer
Bibliography
Notes
Babcock has traveled the Amazon studying monkeys and feasted on fried termites in Kenya while on archeological and anthropoligical treks.
"There's an inner radiance that is ageless in Barbara. A luminesence that comes through her beautiful pale skin." --Beth Sullivan, executive producer and creator, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" quoted in People, May 9, 1994.
"The only way that you know what's beautiful is if you find something that you define as ugly." --Barbara Babcock quoted in People, May 9, 1994.
"My parents raised me not to focus on the external. When the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical are in alignment, then you have beauty that's universal." --Babcock quoted in People, May 9, 1994.
