Barbara McNair Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Barbara McNair
Acting
Biography
Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an African-American singer and actress. Born Barbara Joan McNair in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, McNair studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Her big break came with a win on Arthur Godfrey's TV show Talent Scouts, which led to bookings at The Purple Onion and the Cocoanut Grove. She soon became one of the country's most popular headliners and a guest on such television variety shows as The Steve Allen Show, Hullabaloo, The Bell Telephone Hour, and The Hollywood Palace, while recording for the Coral, Signature, and Motown labels. Among her hits were "You're Gonna Love My Baby" and "Bobby". In the early 60s, Barbara made several musical shorts for Scopitone, a franchise of coin-operated machines that showed what were the forerunners of today's music videos. McNair's acting career began on television, guesting on series such as Dr. Kildare, The Eleventh Hour, I Spy, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes and McMillan and Wife. McNair posed nude for Playboy in the October 1968 issue. She caught the attention of the movie-going public with her much-publicized nude sequences in the gritty crime drama If He Hollers Let Him Go (1968) opposite Raymond St. Jacques, then donned a nun's habit alongside Mary Tyler Moore for Change of Habit (1969), Elvis Presley's last feature film. She portrayed Sidney Poitier's wife in They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) and its sequel, The Organization (1971). McNair's Broadway credits include The Body Beautiful (1958), No Strings (1962), and a revival of The Pajama Game (1973). McNair starred in her own 1969 television variety series, but it lasted only one season, despite the wattage provided by A-list guests like Tony Bennett and Sonny and Cher, and offers began to dwindle. On December 15, 1976, her husband, Rick Manzi, was murdered, and Mafia boss-turned-FBI-informant Jimmy Fratianno later claimed in his book The Last Mafioso that Manzi had been a Mafia associate who tried to put a contract on the life of a mob-associated tax attorney with whom he had a legal dispute. The ensuing publicity did little to help McNair's floundering career. Her recordings include Livin' End, I Enjoy Being a Girl, and The Ultimate Motown Collection, a 2-CD set with 48 tracks that include her two albums for the label plus a non-album single and B-side and an entire LP that never was released. Into her seventies, McNair resided in the Los Angeles area, playing tennis and skiing to keep in shape on a regular basis and touring on occasion. She died on February 4, 2007, of throat cancer, survived by her husband Charles Blecka.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Neon Signs
After his mother ditches him in a dingy roadside motel, naive teen Otis sets out to make his way to Las Vegas, hitching a ride with a pair of charismatic, middle-aged schemers. Once in Sin City, Otis finds himself drawn into an elaborate poker heist plotted by his shady new "friends" and a grizzled con artist. But Otis soon learns that his acquaintances are not to be trusted.
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.
Venus in Furs
After a jazz musician finds a woman's corpse washed up on the beach and remembers that he witnessed her murder at a party the previous night, a woman who bears a strong resemblance to her begins to exact revenge on the murderers.
Spencer's Mountain
Clay Spencer and his wife, Olivia, live in a small town deep in the mountains. When Clay isn't busy drinking with his buddies or railing against the town minister, he's building the house he's always promised Olivia. He is overjoyed when he learns his eldest son will be the first Spencer to attend college, if he can resist the charms of a pretty local girl and rustle up the money for tuition.
Change of Habit
Dr. John Carpenter takes the job of running a health center in a low-income district. He enlists three women to help out who — unbeknownst to him — are actually nuns in street clothes. The church wants to improve the neighborhood but fears that nuns in full habit would not be well received. Unaware of her unavailability, John falls for Sister Michelle, serenading her with his guitar — which, luckily for him, effectively wears away at her religious resolve.
The Organization
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance.
If He Hollers, Let Him Go!
James Lake (Raymond St. Jacques) is an escaped black convict imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit. Leslie Whitlock (Kevin McCarthy) offers James money to kill his wife, Ellen (Dana Wynter). He declines and tries to look up his old flame Lily (Barbara McNair), but discovers his own brother is now married to the sultry nightclub singer. James returns to Leslie, and the trio travel towards a mountain retreat. James and Ellen escape and try to find the murderer who had framed James years before.
Stiletto
A rich, jet-setting playboy has a secret life: he's also a professional Mafia hitman. When he decides it's time to retire from that life, he finds that his former employers don't like the idea that someone who knows so much about them won't be under their control anymore, and decide to send their own hitmen to eliminate him.
Fatal Charm
Valerie's prosecutor mom is trying to put away Adam, an alleged serial killer on trial for murdering six women. But he's so charming that the teenage Valerie just can't believe he really did it, and soon they begin sending each other letters. Adam is caught up in a jailbreak and ends up on the run.
The Unkissed Bride
A young couple's honeymoon is disrupted by the groom's childhood obsession with Mother Goose. Unable to consummate the marriage, they head off to the psychiatrist, where the fun really begins.
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