Born--of all times--on a
Friday 13th, Barbara Bain,
who plays Doctor Helena Russell,
is anything but unlucky. By her
own admission, she's been pretty
fortunate all her life. She made it
as a high fashion model very early
in her career. She met Martin
Landau shortly after she'd
switched to drama study. She's
had a wonderfully happy marriage
with him (they wed on February
10, 1957) and she has two
daughters, Susan Meredith and
Juliet Rose.
And in acting? She won fans all
over the world with her portrayal
of Cinnamon Carter in the
'Mission: Impossible' series,
which ran for eighty episodes.
"And now," she says, "I'm lucky
again! Playing alongside Martin in
'Space 1999'."
A green-eyed blonde, Barbara
enjoys the role of Helena Russell.
For she's a pretty intelligent girl
herself. At school, she gained her
B.S. degree in Sociology.
Barbara originally wanted to
become a dancer, and went to New
York from her home town of
Chicage to learn the profession. |
American. In her early thirties.
Born when the first explorations of
the Moon were taking place.
Daughter of a West Coast physician,
she has followed in her father's
footsteps, entering a medical career
after leaving High School. Gradually
expanded into the challenge of
Space Medicine, rising in her
profession to become Moonbase
Alpha's Chief of Medical Section.
Married - presumed widowed. Her
husband, whom she met at medical
school, disappeared while on a space
mission. Emotionally rugged as a
result, she nevertheless is very
feminine, and has a strong attach-
ment to Commander Koenig. | |
But you can't just study in the big
city--you have to eat and live as
well, and at the suggestion of
friends, she got into part-time
modelling. Though in demand,
she didn't like it much, and soon
turned to acting, enrolling in the
Curt Conway Acting School,
where she met Conway's
assistant--Martin Landau. "We
didn't take to each other at all at
first," she remembers. "But there
was a party--when we got
together socially. SUddenly we
reversed out opinions of each
other--and pow!" They married,
and with Martin just off on tour
with the play 'Middle of the
Night', Barbara managed to get a
job understudying the lead and a
small part in the same show. The
tour was their honeymoon!
The tour ended in California,
and hitting Hollywood, Barbara
and her new husband went their
separate professional ways. He
combined films and TV, and
|
Barbara concentrated on the
latter. She played guest spots in
shows like 'Get Smart', 'Bonanza',
'Dick Van Dyke Show', 'Studio
One'--and did some work with
local theatre groups.
Then came 'Mission:
Impossible'. She won the Tele-
vision Academy 'Emmy' Award
as best actress in a dramatic series
three years in succession--and all-
time record!
After 'Mission: Impossible',
Barbara took time out to devote
her attention to her daughters,
accompanying Martin on location
trips, and restricting herself to
one-shot productions. Until
'Space 1999' came along.
For her, the series has been a
family affair, for not only is she
alongside her husband, but the
children were over in England for
the shooting, too. Like Helena
Russell, Barbara clearly has that
strong feminine streak underneath
the acting professionalism! | |
