Barbara Bates
| Barbara Bates | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 6, 1925 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | March 18, 1969 (aged 43) Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning |
| Resting place | Crown Hill Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1945–1962 |
| Spouse(s) |
Cecil Coan (m. 1945; d. 1967) William Reed (m. 1968) |
Barbara Bates (August 6, 1925 – March 18, 1969) was an American actress and singer, known for her role as Phoebe in the 1950 drama film All About Eve.
The eldest of three daughters, Bates was born in Denver, Colorado. While growing up in Denver, she studied ballet and worked as a teen fashion model. The shy teen was persuaded to enter a local beauty contest and won, receiving two round-trip train tickets to Hollywood, California. Two days before returning to Denver, Bates met Cecil Coan, a United Artists publicist, who would ultimately change the course of her life.
In September 1944, Bates signed a contract with Universal Pictures after Cecil Coan introduced her to producer Walter Wanger. Soon after, she was cast as one of the "Seven Salome Girls" in the 1945 drama, Salome Where She Danced starring Yvonne De Carlo. Around this time, she fell in love with Coan, who was married with two sons and two daughters. In March 1945, Coan divorced his wife and secretly married Bates days later. Bates spent the next few years as a stock actress, landing bit parts in movies and doing cheesecake layouts for magazines like Yank, the Army Weekly and Life. It was one of those photo sessions that caught the eye of executives at Warner Bros. who signed her in 1947. Warner Bros. highlighted her "girl-next-door" image and her acting career took off. She appeared with some of the biggest stars of the day including Bette Davis in June Bride and Danny Kaye in The Inspector General.
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