Biography for
Barbara Billingsley More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

22 December 1915, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Barbara Lillian Combes

Height

5' 5" (1.65 m)

Spouse

William Mortensen	(28 June 1959 - 5 July 1981) (his death)
Roy Kellino	(15 November 1953 - 18 November 1956) (his death)
Glenn Billingsley	(1941 - 1947) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

After the death of her second husband, Roy Kellino (who died of a heart attack in 1956), Billingsley married Dr. William Mortensen, a Santa Monica physician and widower, who was an old friend of the Kellinos during their marriage.

Attended Los Angeles Junior College for one year before moving to New York to appear in the play 'Straw Hat', which made it to Broadway. It closed after only five shows, after which she became a $60-a-week fashion model.

Has two sons, Drew (b. 1942) and Brud (b. 1945), from her first marriage, to Glenn Billingsley, nephew of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley.

Daughter-in-law of W.P. Kellino.

Before Barbara, director/husband Roy Kellino was married to actress/syndicated columnist Pamela Mason, who once went by the stage name Pamela Kellino and later married (and divorced) actor James Mason.

Billingsley is related by marriage to actor/producer Peter Billingsley, known for his starring role as Ralphie in the seasonal TV-movie classic "A Christmas Story". First husband Glenn's cousin is Peter's mother, Gail Billingsley.

She and her first husband, Glenn Billingsley, a successful restaurateur, had two sons, Drew and Glenn, Jr. Since 1974, Drew and Glenn have owned and operated Billingsley's Restaurant in West Los Angeles, in the tradition of their father, and their great uncle, Sherman Billingsley, founder of New York City's very fashionable 1940s-era nightclub, The Stork Club.

Had two failed TV series in the early-to-mid 1950s before becoming a household commodity as June Cleaver in 1957.

The Cleaver clan became the iconic 1950s American nuclear family. As the mother in the show, Barbara was often seen performing her household duties wearing complementary pearls and earrings. The pearls actually were her idea. The actress bore a noticeable surgical scar on her neck and wore a strand of pearls to conceal it from the cameras.

Best known by the public for her starring role as June Cleaver on "Leave It to Beaver" (1957).

Personal Quotes

Husband] Roy died on a Saturday, while we were gardening. The Thursday before, I was up for the part of the mother in a series Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher were working on. Then Roy died, and nothing came of that series. But two months later, when they started on Leave It To Beaver, they remembered me and asked me to read for the part of June. I've always thought that they felt sorry for me.

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