Barbara Billingsley

She is an American film, television, voice and character actress of stage, who in her five decades of television came to prominence in the 1950s in the big screen in The Careless Years opposite Natalie Trundy, followed by her best-known role, that of June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver and its sequel Still the Beaver (also known as The New Leave It to Beaver).

Billingsley was born Barbara Lillian Combes in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Robert Collyer Combes, who was the Chief of Police, and Lillian A. (née McLaughlin) Combes, who worked in a factory. She was the youngest of three children. When she was a little girl, her mother would often take her to the movies. Her parents divorced while Barbara was an adolescent.

When she was in second grade, Billingsley fell in love with drama immediately. She was a popular student at Los Angeles's George Washington High School (now Washington Preparatory High School, an almost all-black high school), where she fell in love with all the school plays. Billingsley was voted "Class Queen". She graduated from George Washington in 1934.

She and her first husband, Glenn Billingsley, a successful restaurateur, had two sons, Drew and Glenn, Jr. Since 1974, Drew and Glenn have owned and operated Billingsley's Restaurant in West Los Angeles, in the tradition of their father and their great-uncle, Sherman Billingsley, founder of New York City's very fashionable 1940s-era nightclub, the Stork Club. Billingsley divorced Glenn Billingsley, but kept his surname professionally. She later married Roy Kellino, a director. After Kellino's death, she married Dr. William Mortensen, who died in 1981.

Billingsley is related by marriage to actor/producer Peter Billingsley, known for his starring role as Ralphie in the seasonal classic A Christmas Story. Her first husband Glenn's cousin is Peter's mother, Gail Billingsley.

Her son, Glenn, Jr. has been married to Karen Zappas since 1976. They have three children: Logan, Morgan and Taylor. Drew has a son, Drew Jr. (all of whom are Barbara's grandchildren).

Her hobbies include: tennis, listening to radio, watching dramatic movies, traveling, wine tasting, sewing, spending time with family, gardening and dining. She frequently played poker with good friend Rod Serling until his death in 1975.

Filmography:

   * The Argyle Secrets (1948)

* Valiant Hombre (1948)
* Prejudice (1949)
* I Cheated the Law (1949)
* Air Hostess (1949)
* Shadow on the Wall (1950)
* Trial Without Jury (1950)
* Pretty Baby (1950)
* Three Guys Named Mike (1951)
* Inside Straight (1951)
* Two-Dollar Bettor (1951)
* The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) (uncredited)
* Young Man with Ideas (1952)
* Woman in the Dark (1952)
* The Lady Wants Mink (1953)
* The Careless Years (1957)
* Airplane! (1980)
* Still the Beaver (1983) (TV)
* Back to the Beach (1987)
* Leave It to Beaver (1997)
* Secret Santa (2003) (TV)
Television:

   * Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1953–1955)

* City Detective episodes "The Corpse on the Carousel" (1953) and "The Glass Thumb" (1954)
* Four Star Playhouse (1953–1955)
* The Brothers (1956)
* Make Room for Daddy (1957)
* Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
* The F.B.I. (1971)
* Mork and Mindy (1982)
* Amazing Stories (1985)
* Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (1984–1990)
* The New Leave It to Beaver (1985–1989)
* Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1991)
* Roseanne (1995)
* Mysterious Ways (2000)
* My Name is Earl (2007)
* The Office (2009)
Further reading:

   * Applebaum, Irwyn. The World According to Beaver. TV Books, 1984, 1998.

* Mathers, Jerry. ...And Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver". Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Billingsley

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0082511/bio

allmovie.com: http://www.allmovie.com/artist/6208

June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver.

• Personal life: Billingsley was married to:
• Glenn Billingsley, Sr. (1912–1984), a restaurateur who was a nephew of Peter Billingsley.
• Roy Kellino (1912–1956), a British-born movie director who had previously been married to British actress Pamela Mason. He and Billingsley were married from 1953 until his death.
• Dr. William S. Mortensen (1907–1981), whom she married in 1959.[15] By this marriage, she had stepchildren; the oldest was William Mortensen, Jr., retired Chairman of the Board of old First Federal of Santa Monica