Catacombs Reference Library
Space 1999 - ATV PRESS RELEASE

BARBARA BAIN

Barbara Bain has no reason to be superstitious. She came into the world one Friday the 13th; and it was quite an auspicious start to life. She didn't wait until her mother arrived at the maternity hospital, but was born in a car en route for the hospital:

Which may have been unlucky for her mother, but Barbara is the first to agree that she herself has been lucky all her life. Lucky to have made it as a high fashion model very early in her career. Lucky to have met Martin Landau while she was still a drama student. Lucky to have had a very happy marriage which has lasted since February 10th 1957. Lucky to be the mother of two adorable daughters. Lucky in her career and particularly lucky to have won fans in every corner of the globe as the modern Mata Hari "Cinnamon Carter" in the "Mission: Impossible" series. And now, she says, lucky to find herself working all the time for a whole year once more with her husband in "Space 1999".

And, of course, lucky to have been born beautiful. She's a blonde, with green eyes and 5' 7" in height. And it's not miscasting that she should be portraying an extremely intelligent doctor in "Space 1999". At school, she gained her B.S. degree in Sociology.

Acting was not in her mind when she made her way from home-town Chicago, Illinois, to New York. She wanted to become a dancer, and she enrolled as a student of modern dance under Martha Graham.

But a girl has to live and also pay the rent. A part-time job was needed. Barbara had the looks and the figure which, a friend suggested, could get her into modelling. In less than no time, she was a highly successful model. It wasn't a career that she liked, even though it more than paid the rent and her dance studies.

Dancing was just one step from acting, and she decided to take drama lessons. To do so, she visited the Curt Conway acting school without guessing how much this was going to affect her private life as well as her career. At first she was profoundly unimpressed by Conway's part-time assistant, Martin Landau, any more than he was impressed by her. A week later, they met at a party. Both reversed their early impressions. Before the night was out, they were in love, or well on the way to being in love at any rate.

Barbara began her acting in summer stock. A few TV roles came her way. Then she and Martin got married. In fact, they married twice, the first time at New York's City Hall, followed ten days later by a religious ceremony.

Martin was just off on tour with the play "Middle of the Night", and Barbara succeeded in getting an understudy to the lead job and a small part in the same show. The tour was their honeymoon.

In Hollywood, they went their separate ways professionally, with Martin combining films with television and Barbara concentrating on television. Her first role in a series was as a fashion designer in "Richard Diamond Private Detective", in which she appeared with David Janssen. She played guest spots in "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Get Smart", "Bonanza", "The Greatest Show on Earth", "Studio One", "Kraft Theatre", and many others, including variety appearances with the Smothers Brothers Jonathan Winters, and Kraft Music Hall. She also did stage work with the Theatre West, and various other groups.

Then, of course, along came "Mission: Impossible". She won the Television Academy "Emmy" Award as the best actress in a dramatic series three years in succession - an all-time record.

Departure from that series after eighty episodes gave her more time to devote herself to her two daughters, to accompany Martin on the location trips which took him abroad and to restrict herself to one-shot productions including TV Movies of the Week. Now in London for "Space 1999", she is not only again starring with Martin in a series but, of course, they have their children with them.