Sun, 10/17/2010

"Jive-speaking" TV mom Barbara Billingsley dies at 94

The Archive regrets to report that actress Barbara Billingsley passed away on Saturday, October 16th at the age of 94. Best known for her TV mom role as June Cleaver, Billingsley also did a famous cameo as a jive-speaking woman in "Airplane."

Selections from her Archive of American Television interview:

The full interview is available here.

Interview description:
In her 6-part Archive interview, actress Barbara Billingsley speaks about her early film career at MGM and her TV roles in Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Four Star Playhouse, and Matinee Theater. She also talks about her regular series roles on Professional Father and The Brothers. She then discusses in-detail her career-defining role as the beloved TV mom "June Cleaver" on the Leave it to Beaver and The New Leave it to Beaver. Ms. Billingsley also discusses her infamous cameo role as a "jive-speaking woman" on the feature film "Airplane." The interview was conducted on July 14, 2000.