Barbara Bain is an American film and television actress.
Early life Bain was born Millicent Fogel in Chicago,
the daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants. She graduated from the University of Illinois
with a bachelor's degree in sociology. Developing an interest in dance, she moved to New York
City, where she studied alongside Martha Graham. Dissatisfied with her career as a dancer,
she went into modeling; jobs with Vogue, Harper's and other publications followed.
Still uninspired, however, Bain entered the Theater Studio to study acting; first under
Curt Conway, then Lonny Chapman. Progressing to the Actors Studio, she was instructed by
Lee Strasberg. Bain's first acting role was in Paddy Chayevsky's
play Middle of the Night, which embarked on a national tour in October 1957. Accompanying
Bain was fellow actor and newly acquired husband Martin Landau; the final leg of the tour brought
the couple to Los Angeles, where they settled permanently. After relocating, Bain established
herself at the Actors Studio West, where she continues to teach classes and perform scene
work. Film and television career
Bain's earliest television appearances included CBS's Tightrope, with Mike Connors, and three
ABC series: The Law and Mr. Jones with James Whitmore, Adventures in Paradise with Gardner
McKay, and Straightaway with Brian Kelly and John Ashley. She guest-starred as Madelyn
Terry in a 1960 episode of Perry Mason, "The Case of the Wary Wildcatter", and in 1964
played the role of Elayna Scott in "The Case of the Nautical Knot".
Between 1966 and 1969, Bain appeared—alongside her then husband, Martin Landau—in the major
role of Cinnamon Carter in Mission: Impossible; she also starred as the character in a 1997
episode of Diagnosis: Murder. She won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Dramatic
Actress for her performance in 1967, 1968 and 1969, in addition to a Golden Globe Award
nomination in 1968. She starred opposite Landau again in the science-fiction
TV series Space: 1999, as Dr. Helena Russell, and the made-for-TV film The Harlem Globetrotters
on Gilligan's Island. Bain also appeared in The Dick Van Dyke Show, in the episode "Will
You Two Be My Wife?", and My So-Called Life, playing the main character Angela Chase's
grandmother in one episode. Other appearances include "Matroyoshka", an episode of the 1990s
science-fiction series Millennium. In 1998, Bain was a special guest star in
the Walker, Texas Ranger episode "Saving Grace", as the Mother Superior. In 2006, she had a
minor role in one episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In 2008, co-starring with her
daughter Juliet Landau, Bain voiced the character of Verdona Tennyson in "What Are Little Girls
Made Of?", an episode of Ben 10: Alien Force. Personal life
Bain married actor Martin Landau in 1957; they divorced in 1993. The couple had two
daughters, actress Juliet Landau and film producer Susan Bain Landau Finch. Bain is
of the Jewish faith. She has contributed to many charitable causes, including literacy.
When asked about watching the development of her daughter's acting career, Bain told
Attention Deficit Delirium: "I think it's wonderful. She wants it, she's very good at
it, so she should do it. She's very gifted. I've seen her in the theater, and we've been
on stage together. We did a play in Los Angeles together. It was gorgeous because I was in
the wings and could watch her, and she could be in the wings and watch me. I handed her
a handkerchief at the end of her big crying scene. I've never been nervous about her because
she knows what she's doing, so I'm very calm when I watch her and very excited to see what
she's doing. I don't take pride because it doesn't seem like anything that I did. It
seems more exquisite pleasure, but not pride. I didn't do anything, she did it. In kindergarten
she said she wanted to be a singer or dancer or actress. She does sing and did dance. She
didn't mess around. She went right after what she was going to do."
TV and Filmography References
External links Barbara Bain at the Internet Movie Database
Interview with Barbara Bain, October, 2014, Ames Tribune