Barbara Harris

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 7:18pm

Does anyone have any news of her? I understand she's teaching in the southwest and no longer acting. The Clear Day revival made me think of her and wish she'd been "recruited" for Follies. Wish she were still performing.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 7:22pm

Okay now you're gonna make me wanna listen to the CLEAR DAY and APPLE TREE cast albums!

My first introduction to the great Barbara Harris was the Disney film, FREAKY FRIDAY. I had no idea she had a musical theater past until much later in life.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 7:28pm

Carlos: On the Clear Day revival thread, JustOldBill posted a YouTube clip of BH and John Cullum performing excerpts from Clear Day on a Bell Telephone Hour TV tribute to Lerner. It was wonderful to see. I've listened to the OBC album since high school but never saw Harris in person. Love the score and she is to die for.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 8:17pm

Just watched her in Nashville the other day. Great performance! Love her!

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 9:37pm

I saw her in Apple Tree. One of the best performances I've ever seen and what a loss to Broadway that she hasn't chosen to return. Miss her!

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 9:42pm

Ed, Just saw the YouTube clip of the Apple Tree "glamourous star" number--BH transformed from urchin-type into Marilyn Monroe-type. Contrast reminded me of her Clear Day role, in that she had a split role in each, playing both an uneducated "raw" gal and a more sophisticated woman. What were some of the other Apple Tree numbers? Jealous you saw the original!

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 10:12pm

I absolutely adore this woman, on record or on the screen. Somebody please find her and give her another role!

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/25/11 at 10:15pm

^^^^
Ditto. Hey, Mr. Producer (and Mr. Sondheim), we're talkin' to you, sirs!

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 1:51am

Just can't get enough of her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp-F8xqXpZk

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 3:56am

I, too, am in love with Barbara Harris. I first encountered her in the fine film A THOUSAND CLOWNS (which I just received from Amazon and plan to watch after I peruse the BWW threads). Because of her talent, I went to THE APPLE TREE where she was the shining star of a very enjoyable trio of short plays with music. Later I saw her in ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER which boasted her somewhat quirky take on a woman who could indeed talk to flowers and have an effect on them. William Daniels, who had been her social work partner in A THOUSAND CLOWNS, was also in ON A CLEAR DAY...and was
also excellent. Because she is irreplaceable in my book, I will not be seeing this season's production of ON A CLEAR DAY.

I can see her as Carlotta in FOLLIES singing, "I'm Still Here". She has the same effect on me that the very different Tyne Daly does: I would see either of them in ANY play or musical. Now to A THOUSAND CLOWNS.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 6:11am

I couldn't agree more about Tyne Daly.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 12:01pm

Found this 2002 interview with Barbara Harris in a Phoenix paper.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2002-10-24/culture/barbara-harris-knew-bill-clinton-was-white-trash/

[Jim3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 2:04pm

Thanks for posting that interesting article, Miranda.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 6:03pm

Yes, indeed. Thank you, Miranda. That interview is charming!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 6:49pm

That article made me love Barbara Harris even more. I forgot about FAMILY PLOT.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 7:20pm

I seem to remember hearing that Harris had stripped her voice by singing improperly and couldn't really sing any more. (Of course she was always considered more an actor-who-sings than a singer per se.)

I absolutely love the film of NASHVILLE and Barbara Harris of course sings the finale. But even there, she doesn't sound like the woman who starred in CLEAR DAY and APPLE TREE.

Does the vocal problem story sound familiar to anyone? If not, everyone please treat this post as an UNFOUNDED RUMOR, because I could well be wrong.

[3bluenight]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 7:23pm

Does anyone have more information about where she is teaching?

I think it's interesting that both Kim Stanley and Barbara Harris ended up teaching in the SW.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 8:14pm

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 10:21pm

3bluenight, As of 2002, she was teaching in Scottsdale, AZ, a tony (not in the theater sense) suburb of Phoenix.

[ChiChi]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 11:09pm

Last I knew she is teaching and directing here in Arizona. She workshopped one of my plays in a class she taught in Scottsdale.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 11:43pm

ChiChi, More detail, please, re your working experience with her. We are all ears/keyboards.

[ChiChi]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 11:50pm

She was incredibly sweet and smart. She attended the premiere of a play I wrote in 03 and then asked if I had anything that could be used in a workshop setting. I had a play that was almost finished but that I'd abandoned in anger when I got stuck. I reworked it a bit, finished it to some degree and a month later I was invited to a reading. I haven't spoken to her or heard anything from her since. But I was completely retarded when I met her at our premiere and just attacked her with "Freaky Friday" questions because I first fell in love with her in that. The cutest part was that I'd put my mother to work as an usher that night because the idiot we were actually paying to do it flaked so I made her do it for free. When I walked Ms. Harris (who was very gracious) over to her, my mother couldn't help but cry and throw her arms around the poor woman. I hope she's well. When I saw the name of the thread I was very scared I'd see an obituary. Glad that wasn't the case and I ABSOLUTELY knocked on wood.

[ChiChi]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 11:52pm

I also have to say that I wish I could find her, because when we last spoke we were discussing a new play I was writing (at the time) which I FINALLY finished in December of last year. It would be a dream to have her direct it.

[3bluenight]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 12:32am

@miranda - THANKS
@chichi - that's an excellent story.