Barbara Colby

Barbara Colby
Born	(1939-07-02)July 2, 1939 New York City, United States
Died	July 24, 1975(1975-07-24) (aged 36) Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States
Cause of death	Gunshot wounds
Years active	1964−75

Barbara Colby (July 2, 1939 – July 24, 1975) was an American actress.

Early career

Born in New York City on July 2, 1939, she started her acting career in the theater. Following a solid performance in Six Characters in Search of an Author in 1964, she moved to Broadway with a debut in The Devils the following year. Throughout the rest of the decade, she appeared in such plays as Under Milk Wood, Murder in the Cathedral, Dear Liar, and A Doll's House, and garnered fine reviews for her Portia in Julius Caesar in 1966.

Career

Colby's first important television role was in the series premiere episode of Columbo, titled "Murder by the Book" in 1971. Colby began a bi-coastal career and played a host of support/guest roles on such established shows as The Odd Couple, McMillan & Wife, The F.B.I., Medical Center, Kung Fu and Gunsmoke.

Colby appeared in 1970s plays such as Aubrey Beardsley the Neophyte, House of Blue Leaves, Afternoon Tea and The Hot l Baltimore. She returned to the classics with an off-Broadway role as Elizabeth in Richard III, and was back on Broadway with the plays Murderous Angels in 1971 and a revival of A Doll's House in the early part of 1975.

In 1974, Colby appeared in two films, California Split and Memory of Us. Early in 1975, she co-starred in Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins.

A role as a streetwise prostitute opposite Mary Tyler Moore in an episode of MTM Productions' The Mary Tyler Moore Show led to an appearance in a subsequent episode. In 1975, MTM cast Colby as the new regular player on the Mary Tyler Moore Show spin-off Phyllis, starring actress Cloris Leachman. Colby, who had appeared with Leachman in the TV movie A Brand New Life in 1973, was cast as Leachman's boss, Julie Erskine, the owner of a commercial photography studio.

Personal life

Though she was born in New York City, she was predominantly raised in New Orleans, where she had interest in acting while attending high school. After graduating, she received a scholarship to Bard College on the Hudson back in New York. This was followed by a single semester at the Paris Sorbonne University in France.

Death

On July 24, 1975, Colby and acting colleague James Kiernan were walking to their car following an acting class in Venice, Los Angeles, California, when they were shot inside a parking area. The murders occurred after three episodes of the TV series Phyllis had been filmed. Colby was killed instantly, but Kiernan was able to describe the shooting to police before he later died of his wounds. Kiernan said that he did not recognize the two men who shot them, and that the shooting had occurred without warning, reason or provocation. Police noted that there was no attempt to rob the pair and concluded that it was a random drive-by shooting or a targeted killing. The killers were never identified and the case remains an open cold case. It will probably remain so for the foreseeable future, as there is no statute of limitations on murder in California (or any other United States jurisdiction).

At the time of her death, Colby was separated from her husband, Bob Levitt, son of Ethel Merman. Colby's final acting appearance was in the TV movie The Ashes of Mrs. Reasoner which aired in 1976.

Barbara was cremated. Her ashes were taken to sea by family and friends and dispersed in a ceremony off Paradise Cove on the Pacific Coast.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1968	Petulia	Patient	Uncredited
1969	N.Y.P.D.	Lila	TV, 1 episode
1971	Columbo: Murder by the Book	Lilly La Sanka	Television movie
	The Odd Couple	Monique	TV, 1 episode
1972	Look Homeward, Angel	Miss Brown	Television movie
1973	The F.B.I.	Marti	TV, 1 episode
	McMillan & Wife	Linda Comsack	TV, 1 episode
	ABC Afterschool Special		TV, 1 episode
1974	Judgement: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg		Television movie
	Medical Center	Mrs. Polumbo	TV, 1 episode
	Kung Fu	Josie	TV, 1 episode
	Memory of Us	Iris
	California Split	Receptionist
	Gunsmoke	Kathy Carter	TV, 1 episode
1974–1975	The Mary Tyler Moore Show	Sherry Ferris	TV, 2 episodes
1975	Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins		Alternative title: Rafferty and the Highway Hustlers
	Phyllis	Julie Erskine #1	TV, 3 episodes
1976	The Ashes of Mrs. Reasoner		Television movie

External links

• "Actor, Actress Slain By California Gunmen", Charleston (SC) News and Courier, July 26, 1975, p4-A
• Barbara Colby at IMDb
• Barbara Colby at the Internet Broadway Database
• Barbara Colby at Find a Grave