Barbara McNair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Barbara McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an African-American singer and actress. Born Barbara Joan McNair in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, McNair studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Her big break came with a win on Arthur Godfrey's TV show Talent Scouts, which led to bookings at The Purple Onion and the Cocoanut Grove. She soon became one of the country's most popular headliners and a guest on such television variety shows as The Steve Allen Show, Hullabaloo, The Bell Telephone Hour, and The Hollywood Palace, while recording for the Coral, Signature, and Motown labels. Among her hits were "You're Gonna Love My Baby" and "Bobby". In the early 60s, Barbara made several musical shorts for Scopitone, a franchise of coin-operated machines that showed what were the forerunners of today's music videos. McNair's acting career began on television, guesting on series such as Dr. Kildare, The Eleventh Hour, I Spy, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes and McMillan and Wife. McNair posed nude for Playboy in the October 1968 issue. She caught the attention of the movie-going public with her much-publicized nude sequences in the gritty crime drama If He Hollers Let Him Go (1968) opposite Raymond St. Jacques, then donned a nun's habit alongside Mary Tyler Moore for Change of Habit (1969), Elvis Presley's last feature film. She portrayed Sidney Poitier's wife in They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) and its sequel, The Organization (1971). McNair's Broadway credits include The Body Beautiful (1958), No Strings (1962), and a revival of The Pajama Game (1973). McNair starred in her own 1969 television variety series, but it lasted only one season, despite the wattage provided by A-list guests like Tony Bennett and Sonny and Cher, and offers began to dwindle. On December 15, 1976, her husband, Rick Manzi, was murdered, and Mafia boss-turned-FBI-informant Jimmy Fratianno later claimed in his book The Last Mafioso that Manzi had been a Mafia associate who tried to put a contract on the life of a mob-associated tax attorney with whom he had a legal dispute. The ensuing publicity did little to help McNair's floundering career. Her recordings include Livin' End, I Enjoy Being a Girl, and The Ultimate Motown Collection, a 2-CD set with 48 tracks that include her two albums for the label plus a non-album single and B-side and an entire LP that never was released. Into her seventies, McNair resided in the Los Angeles area, playing tennis and skiing to keep in shape on a regular basis and touring on occasion. She died on February 4, 2007, of throat cancer, survived by her husband Charles Blecka. Description above from the Wikipedia article Barbara McNair, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For: Acting

Born: Chicago, Illinois, 1934-03-04

Died: 2007-04-04

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1963	Spencer's Mountain	Graduation Singer (uncredited)	67
2	1966	The Unkissed Bride	Herself	32
3	1968	Rowan & Martin at the Movies	Self	0
4	1968	If He Hollers, Let Him Go!	Lily	54
5	1969	Stiletto	Ahn Dessie	52
6	1969	Venus in Furs	Rita	53
7	1969	The Lonely Profession	Donna Travers	0
8	1969	Change of Habit	Sister Irene Hawkins	54
9	1970	They Call Me Mister Tibbs!	Valerie Tibbs	58
10	1971	The Organization	Valerie Tibbs	59
11	1990	Fatal Charm	English Teacher	54
12	1996	Neon Signs	Grace	0

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1948	The Ed Sullivan Show	Self	68
2	1953	The Oscars	Self	71
3	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Performer	51
4	1956	The Steve Allen Show	Self - Singer	56
5	1957	Tonight Starring Jack Paar	Self	70
6	1957	American Bandstand	Self	84
7	1958	Kraft Music Hall	Self	47
8	1961	Dr. Kildare	Mareema Kamba	55
9	1961	The Mike Douglas Show	Self	54
10	1962	The Merv Griffin Show	Self	58
11	1962	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	Self	75
12	1963	The Danny Kaye Show	Self	63
13	1964	The Hollywood Palace	Self - Singer	45
14	1965	Hullabaloo	Self	0
15	1965	Hogan's Heroes	Kumasa	75
16	1966	Mission: Impossible		76
17	1967	The Carol Burnett Show	Self	77
18	1967	The Carol Burnett Show	Self - Guest	77
19	1968	The Mod Squad		63
20	1969	The Barbara McNair Show	Self - Host	0
21	1969	The Jim Nabors Hour		0
22	1969	To Rome with Love		50
23	1970	The Flip Wilson Show	Self	48
24	1974	Police Woman		63
25	1975	The Jeffersons		73
26	1978	Vega$		70
27	1985	Hell Town		50
28	1989	Snoops	Virginia Martin	50

Barbara McNair

Film

Television