Biography for
Barbara Bel Geddes More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

31 October 1922, New York City, New York, USA

Date of Death

8 August 2005, Northeast Harbor, Maine, USA (lung cancer)

Height

5' 3½" (1.61 m)

Mini Biography

Arguably best remembered for her role as Miss Ellie, the Ewing family matriarch on the long-running TV series "Dallas" (1978), Barbara Bel Geddes had earlier scored success on stage and screen long before gaining more lasting fame on television. Born in New York City on Halloween Day 1922, the daughter of noted theatrical and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes, who staged more than 200 plays. After growing up amidst the theatre, Bel Geddes began acting on stage at age 18 and soon moved on to Broadway. The silver screen also beckoned, making her film debut in The Long Night (1947). She was quickly labeled a star, gracing the cover of Life magazine on April 12, 1948. Her third motion picture, I Remember Mama (1948), garnered Bel Geddes an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. Other notable films include Panic in the Streets (1950) directed by Elia Kazan; Alfred Hitchcock's classic mystery-thriller Vertigo (1958) with James Stewart and Kim Novak; and The Five Pennies (1959) opposite Danny Kaye. Though she achieved immediate success in films, Bel Geddes also continued to tread the boards on Broadway, since theatre was her first love. In 1952, she received the prestigious Woman of the Year Award by Hasty Pudding Theatricals USA, America's oldest theater company. She was nominated for Tony Awards as best dramatic actress for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1956 and for the lead in Mary, Mary in 1961. Bel Geddes made several TV appearances on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955) and other programs in the mid-50s, but her greatest television role came as Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow on "Dallas" (1978), which enjoyed a run of 13 years (1978-1991). She won the Emmy Award for best actress in 1980 and was nominated in the same category in 1979 and 1981. Bel Geddes left the show for health reasons during the 1984-85 season, with Donna Reed taking over the role of Miss Ellie. Bel Geddes returned for the 1985-86 season and continued on "Dallas" (1978) until 1990, when she effectively retired from acting. She did not appear in either of the two Dallas TV reunion movies. On August 8, 2005, she died following a long illness.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Lisa Kelly Eason <lisakellyeason@yahoo.com>

Spouse

Windsor Lewis	(15 April 1951 - 15 May 1972) (his death) 1 child
Carl Schreuer	(24 January 1944 - 1951) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Characters were usually part of a grand, dysfunctional family

Soft-spoken, sincere voice

Trivia

She played Maggie the Cat in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Elizabeth Taylor garnered the role in the Hollywood film version - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)).

Daughters, Susan and Betsy.

Daughter of stage designer/art director Norman Bel Geddes and Helen Belle Sneider Geddes.

Stepdaughter of famous theatrical costumer designer Edith Lutyens-Bel Geddes

At age 16 she was kicked out of the fancy Putney Finishing School in New England for being a disruptive influence.

Had 3 grandchildren: Samantha, Hannah and Joshua.

Designed stationery for Caspari and Crane in her retirement years.

Spent her retirement years in Northeast Harbor, Maine up until her death.

Operated on for breast cancer in 1971/72, and relived the experience in "Dallas" (1978) when Miss Ellie underwent a mastectomy.

She played the showgirl in The Sleeping Prince on Broadway. Marilyn Monroe garnered the role in the Hollywood film version - The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).

She played the lead in Mary, Mary on Broadway. Debbie Reynolds garnered the role in the Hollywood film version - Mary, Mary (1963).

Was twice nominated for Broadway's best dramatic actress Tony Award: in 1956 for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and in 1961 for Mary, Mary.

A longtime smoker, she was forced to quit by her doctors after her heart attack in March 1984.

Her future "Dallas" (1978) co-star's, Patrick Duffy's father-in-law, worked with her father Norman Bel Geddes, long before Duffy's future wife saw her in a Broadway play.

Was the first and only choice to audition for the role of Miss Ellie Ewing on "Dallas" (1978).

Prior to her retirement, she was the best-selling author of 2 children's books.

Best remembered by the public for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow on "Dallas" (1978).

Made her Broadway debut when she was 18.

Personal Quotes

I'm not very well-bred and I'm not much of a lady.

I'm a dull girl, I guess, because I like to do mundane things. I like to putter things around the house, draw, raise geraniums and I can't let an avocado pit go into the garbage. I have to try to make it grow into a tree.

[on the Mastectomy storyline]: When the producer asked me if I would mind having Ellie discover a malignant lump on her breast, I thought, 'No, this time, I won't mind.'

[In 1979]: You learn to live with it. That's how I like to help, if I can, by talking about it - to say there's hope and not to give up. You do get well. You are able to laugh about it and make jokes about it.

[In 1986]: That quote got under my skin. If you fret about tomorrow so much that you dare not live today, then, how wise are you?

[When she learned of Donna Reed's firing from "Dallas" (1978)]: I certainly wouldn't do anything to harm Donna. I think she's a lovely lady and a wonderful actress, and everyone was grateful when she stepped in. And, as an actress, I would not appreciate being told I was being replaced the way she was.

[Who was aware of her deceased TV star (Jim Davis), who encouraged her to stay on "Dallas" (1978) for the entire run]: I miss Jim terribly. When I became ill, I started to consider whether I would ever return to the show.

Mother Teresa is one of my heroines.

[In 1951]: I think that was cute of R.K.O.

[In 1966]: I was never the Jane Russell type, although no one claimed my Maggie the Cat in 'Cat on a Hat Tin Roof,' lacked sex appeal.

[In 1985]: I haven't seen it for a couple of months, so they are sending me a load of tapes, so I can catch up with all the action. I'm afraid all I've been doing for the past few weeks is enjoying myself, puttering about doing things like painting the house and watching my goose, who's about to hatch her eggs any day now?

[Who said in 1989 about her deceased co-star (Jim Davis) as to how he would encourage her to stay on "Dallas" (1978), if he was around]: Just as I was pondering the future, I heard his voice saying, 'Stick with the show; the others need you.' I looked across the room and saw Jim's face reflected in the glass. He was telling me what to do - guiding me down the right path as he had in life.

[Who shuddered after hearing about one of the "Dallas" (1978) reunion movies]: They'll make it without me, I'm not going through that again!

I sometimes wonder if whoever invented the boomerang also invented the credit card.

[With the encouragement of her doctors, she stopped smoking]: I have to do something with my hands.

[Who talked about training]: You have to treat yourself like an athlete. You're always in training. You have to save yourself for those hours on the stage or before the cameras, when you'll need every bit of energy you possess.

[In 1959]: When I first started, I thought it would be all fun - like appearing in a high school play. I didn't realize the discipline involved.

[In 1980]: Self-examination was a term I never even heard of, even after I realized I had the lump. I ignored it until it just became too painful.

[In 1982]: We must not ignore the wild animals. I'll do anything I can to help.

[on her popularity while playing the sixty-something Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow on Dallas]: It's absolutely ridiculous. Ellie is no lush and the viewers would never believe that she could become one.

[In doing a scene with Jim Davis sitting down]: I'm so sorry, I thought I had that line off pat.

[In 1998]: I know all about the human soul, and this is what good for mine. That's why I'm here.

[Who said in 1996 when she had no choice other than to sell her 200-year-old farmhouse near New York City, where he deceased husband lived]: I'll be happy to live here until I die.

I plan to go back to my farm in upstate New York where I've lived for 35 years. It's a typical 'Back East' country house and I have some farm animals like ducks and geese.

[Where the ghost came to her dressing room about Jim Davis]: I told him, 'Jim, rest easy - our kids are doing just fine and I am, too.' Then, he faded away.

I'll be harrowing, but it's worth it. I'll have to commute - I hate to be away from here.

[Who said in 1988 of her second husband (Windsor Lewis) dying of cancer, 16 years earlier]: I knew he was dying, but he didn't. I was too concerned about him to think about my lump. I thought my surgery was for a biopsy, but when I came around, the doctor said: 'I had to play a mean trick on you ...' I said: 'I know - my breast is gone. A serious illness like this opens your mind to what's important in life - and it isn't riches and fames.

[Who refused scriptwriters' ideas to have her Miss Ellie cheating on her husband, scheming with her own sons or even turning to demonic drinking]: Dallas' fans around the world have come to accept Miss Ellie as a caring, loving wife and mother and that's the way I want her to stay.

I'm ready to leave and just play for a while.

[Who said in 1983 prior to recovering from her major heart operation]: There was a time when I didn't think I would be back on the show.

I loved the entertainment industry, but that's in the past and I don't miss it at all.

[Who said in 1987, in one of her movies, she remembered the late Howard Hughes sacked her, who also told her she wasn't sexy enough]: It was a crushing blow. Who wants to be told that?

[on the death of Jim Davis]: One evening I was alone in my dressing room when I felt a draft and turned to see Jim's ghostly figure passing through the closed door. He smiled reassuringly and then disappeared.

I want to quit and just play, which I have never been able to do my whole life. I've just worked. Now I want to read and bird-watch and do my drawing.

[As to why she retired from her roles on television, esp. "Dallas" (1978), when Larry Hagman drove her away from the show]: Larry has stabbed me in the back. I've been betrayed by the person I thought was my best friend. He's as devious and cruel as when he plays J.R. I'm sure he's only doing it to save money.