R.I.P. Barbara Rush, It Came From Outer Space and Peyton Place star
Rush was also a prolific stage actor, known for roles in Steel Magnolias and 40 Carats. She was 97.
Aux News Peyton Place
Barbara Rush—the film, television, and stage star known for her roles in the 1953 sci-fi flick It Came From Outer Space and the soap opera Peyton Place—died Sunday evening. The news was confirmed by her daughter, Fox News senior correspondent Claudia Cowan, in a statement to the outlet. “My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening. I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition,” Cowan wrote. “It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family.” Rush was 97.
While Rush would go on to hold a truly staggering number of credits in film and television, her career started on the stages of Santa Barbara, where she grew up and eventually attended school at UCSB. In 1950, two years after her college graduation, Rush signed with Paramount Pictures and made her on-screen debut in The Goldbergs as Debby Sherman.
Her career took off from there. She went on to star in 11 films in the next five years alone, including When Worlds Collide, Flaming Feather, and It Came From Outer Space, for which she won the 1954 Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female. Over the next 40 years, she would appear in as many films, including Oh Men! Oh Women! (1957), The Young Philadelphians (1959), Rat Pack film Robin And The 7 Hoods (1964), and Hombre (1967).
Somehow, Rush also found the time to rack up nearly as many credits in both television and theater. On stage, she became known for her roles in the national tours of 40 Carats, Same Time, Next Year, and Steel Magnolias, as well as her one-woman show, A Woman of Independent Means, which she brought to Broadway in 1984. She also appeared on soap operas like Peyton Place, All My Children, and 7th Heaven, as well as numerous other TV series such as The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and more.
Rush is survived by her two children, Claudia Cowan and Jeffrey Hunter.
2 Comments
Not to be confused with Barbara Bush, who was already very much dead. Hope that helps.
I’ve always felt she was the most beautiful actress of all time and she had the chops too. It’s amazing she wasn’t a full-on movie star but perhaps that was for the best. She had a long career and by her own account a very nice life not to mention her sanity. Who could ask for anything more? She also aged stunningly.
She was terrific in everything she did but I’d recommend the trippy “The Outer Limits” remake of “Diabolique” titled ‘The Form of Things Unknown’ with David McCallum, Cedric Hardwicke and Vera Miles. Crazy kinky fun.
For some reason I can’t post photos here anymore but that alien temptress cocktail dress she wore in “It Came From Outer Space” was both ridiculous and insanely hot. Rest in peace Barbara. You’ll always be my space temptress.