R.I.P. Barbara Harris (1935-2018)

Barbara Harris in Nashville

Actress of stage and screen Barbara Harris died on August 21, 2018 at the age of 83 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Among the accomplishments of her career were several Tony and Golden Globe-nominated performances as well as prominent work in films like Nashville, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Grosse Pointe Blank. With a rich career that spanned several decades, she leaves behind an impressive legacy of quality performances and Broadway shows that were inspired by her charisma. Her work continues to live on in the students that she taught after retiring from acting as well as the great work that she did on camera. She had an exciting, unique career that's hard to match, and it makes her all the more fascinating as a result.

Harris was born in Evanston, Illinois on July 25, 1935. As a teenager, she started her stage career at the Playwrights Theater in Chicago, where she worked with such performers as Ed Asner, Elaine May, and Mike Nichols. Her work later in the Compass Players made her part of the first ongoing improvisational theater troupe in the United States. They eventually moved to New York to play Broadway at Royal theater in 1961, which would lead to a Tony Award nomination in 1962 for Best Actress in a Musical. Her work lead to constant acclaim, including a win for win in 1962 in the musical Second City. This inspired such creators as Richard Rodgers and Alan Jay Lerner (though not together) to pitch her ideas for shows.Having seen South Pacific, Harris turned Rodgers down. However, she stuck with Lerner and created On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, which received praise despite its experimental structure. Harris, even in her lesser work, usually received praise. The production by Jerry Bock called The Apple Tree was also created for her.

While her work on stage is legendary enough to go into lots of details, she also had a film career, which began with her appearing in various TV shows between 1961 and 1964. These shows included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Channing, and The Defenders. Her cinematic debut was for A Thousand Clowns, which received her a Golden Globe nomination alongside Jason Robards Jr. By 1971, she starred opposite Dustin Hoffman in Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, which received her an Osacr nomination from a screenplay by Herb Gardner, who also wrote A Thousand Clowns. In 1975, she had her biggest cinematic role yet in Robert Altman's Nashville, which earned her another Golden Globe nomination, as well as praise from co-star (and future Oscar nominee) Lily Tomlin. She would also star in Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot and the 80's high school reunion film from Francis Ford Coppola called Peggy Sue Got Married. Her last role on screen was in 1997's Grosse Pointe Blank.

When she wasn't on screen, she retired and moved to teaching. She wasn't against returning to the big screen, but suggested that she would if there was a good script and $10 million for the role. She wasn't as interested in the projects that she was getting. Still, with a career that spanned stage and screen and several decades, she left behind an incredible body of work, including some very memorable performances that more than warranted her place in film history. She even changed the world of theater by having two shows created for her, which isn't something that could be said for every performer no matter how good. With all of that said, she leaves behind a powerful legacy and one that proves just how unique she was at bringing her gifts to audiences no matter how near or far.