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Barbara Bain (born September 13th, 1931)
is an American film and television actress. Bain was born Millicent
Fogel in Chicago, the daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants. She
graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in
sociology. Developing an interest in dance, she moved to New York
City, where she studied alongside Martha Graham. Dissatisfied with
her career as a dancer, she went into modeling; jobs with Vogue,
Harper's and other publications followed.
Still uninspired, however, Bain entered
the Theater Studio to study acting; first under Curt Conway, then
Lonny Chapman. Progressing to the Actors Studio, she was instructed
by Lee Strasberg.
Bain's first acting role was in Paddy
Chayevsky's play Middle of the Night, which embarked on a national
tour in October 1957. Accompanying Bain was fellow actor and newly
acquired husband Martin Landau; the final leg of the tour brought the
couple to Los Angeles, where they settled permanently. After
relocating, Bain established herself at the Actors Studio West, where
she continues to teach classes and perform scene work.
 Bain's
earliest TV appearances included CBS's Tightrope, with Mike Connors,
and three ABC series: The Law and Mr. Jones with James Whitmore,
Adventures in Paradise with Gardner McKay, and Straightaway with
Brian Kelly and John Ashley. She guest-starred as Madelyn Terry in a
1960 episode of Perry Mason, "The Case of the Wary
Wildcatter", and in 1964 played the role of Elayna Scott in
"The Case of the Nautical Knot". In 1965 Bain guest starred
on the Get Smart episode KAOS in CONTROL
Between 1966 and 1969, Bain appeared,
alongside her then husband, Martin Landau, in the starring role of
Cinnamon Carter (one of the best TV character names ever) in Mission:
Impossible; she also starred as the character (right) in a 1997
episode of Diagnosis: Murder. For Mission: Impossible she won three
consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Dramatic Actress for her performance
in 1967, 1968 and 1969, in addition to a Golden Globe Award
nomination in 1968.
She starred opposite Landau again in the
science-fiction TV series Space: 1999 (1975–77), as Dr. Helena
Russell (below left), and the made-for-TV film The Harlem
Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981). Bain also appeared in The
Dick Van Dyke Show, in the episode "Will You Two Be My
Wife?", and My So-Called Life, playing the main character Angela
Chase's grandmother in one episode. Other appearances include
"Matroyoshka", an episode of the 1990s science-fiction
series Millennium.
 In
1998, Bain was a special guest star in the Walker, Texas Ranger
episode "Saving Grace", as the Mother Superior. In 2006,
she had a minor role in one episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
("Living Legends"). In 2008, co-starring with her daughter
Juliet Landau, Bain voiced the character of Verdona Tennyson in
"What Are Little Girls Made Of?", an episode of Ben 10:
Alien Force.
Bain married actor Martin Landau in 1957;
they divorced in 1993. The couple had two daughters, actress Juliet
Landau and film producer Susan Bain Landau Finch (born Susan Meredith
Landau). Daughter Juliet Rose Landau (born March 30th, 1965) is an
American actress and ballerina best known for her role as Drusilla on
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff show Angel, the latter
appearance earning her a Saturn Award nomination. She also
co-starring as Loretta King in Tim Burton's Ed Wood along with her
father Martin Landau. Juliet Landau also plays the Time Lord Romana
in the Big Finish Productions audio dramas Gallifrey VI and Luna
Romana (2013), both of which are spin-offs from the TV series Doctor Who.
Bain was presented with the California
Lottery's "Hero in Education" Award by actor Kurtwood Smith
on "The Big Spin" show on December 18th, 2004. The award
was for creating an all-volunteer literacy program called
"Bookpals" that has expanded to 21 cities, where over
100,000 children are currently read to each week. |
