Priscilla Pointer
| Priscilla Pointer | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 18, 1924 New York City, New York, United States |
| Spouse | Robert Symonds (1981–2007) (his death) Jules Irving (1947–1979) (his death); 3 children |
Priscilla Pointer (born May 18, 1924) is an American stage, film and television character actress. She began her career in the theater, including productions on Broadway. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood to act in films and on television. She is the mother of Academy Award nominee Amy Irving, the former mother-in-law of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Bruno Barreto and the mother-in-law of documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser, Jr.
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[edit] Personal life
Pointer was born in New York City, the daughter of Augusta Leonora (née Davis), an artist and illustrator, and Kenneth K. Pointer, an artist.[1] Pointer is of Welsh and Cherokee descent. Pointer is the mother of director David Irving, actress Amy Irving and singer Katie Irving, who performed two songs heard in the prom sequence in Carrie.
Pointer was married to film and stage director Jules Irving, former artistic director of the Lincoln Center, from 1947 until his death in 1979. In 1980, she married actor/director/producer Robert Symonds, who had been Jules Irving's producing partner at the Lincoln Center. She appeared several times in stage productions alongside Symonds and they remained married until the latter's death in 2007.
[edit] Career
Pointer has appeared in many films, including Carrie (1976), in which she played the onscreen mother of her real-life daughter Amy Irving, The Onion Field (1979), Mommie Dearest (1981), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Coyote Moon (1999). In addition to Carrie, she has played onscreen mother to real-life daughter Amy twice again: in Honeysuckle Rose (1980) and Carried Away (1996).
Pointer appeared in three films that her son, David Irving, directed: Rumpelstiltskin (a 1987 musical version, which starred her daughter), Good-Bye Cruel World and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D..
Pointer's first starring television role was on Where the Heart Is as "Adrienne Harris Rainey" (1972–73). She has made many guest appearances on television, including such series as Adam-12, L.A. Law, The A-Team, Judging Amy, The Rockford Files, and Cold Case.
During the 1980s, Pointer had a recurring role on the television show Dallas, as Rebecca Wentworth, the mother of Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) and Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal).
[edit] Filmography
- Carrie (1976)
- Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
- Dallas (1981–1983)
- The Onion Field (1979)
- The Competition (1980)
- Honeysuckle Rose (1980)
- Mommie Dearest (1981)
- Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
- The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
- Blue Velvet (1986)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
- From the Hip (1987)
- C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989)
- Disturbed (1990)
- Unbecoming Age (1992)
- Painted Desert (1993)
- ER (1994) as Mrs Abernathy
- Alone (1997)
- Desert Heat (aka Coyote Moon) (1999)
