Barbara Rush dying: It Came From Outer Space actor dies aged 97

Get our free weekly electronic mail for all the newest cinematic information from our movie critic Clarisse Loughrey

Get our The Life Cinematic electronic mail without cost

Barbara Rush, the actor finest identified for her starring position in basic Fifties sci-fi horror It Came from Outer Space, has died. She was 97.

In a press release to Fox News, her daughter Claudia Cowan mentioned on Sunday (31 March): “My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening. I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition.”

Rush was born in Denver in 1927 earlier than rising up in Santa Barbara the place she enrolled within the theatre program on the University of California, Santa Barbara.

After leaving University, she was signed to Paramount Pictures who solid her in 1950’s The Goldbergs and 1951’s Oscar-winning sci-fi movie When (*97*) Collide.

In 1953 Rush landed a number one position in It Came from Outer Space, a sci-fi basic from an unique remedy by Fahrenheit 451 creator Ray Bradbury.

“Ray Bradbury was such a wonderful man,” Rush as soon as advised an interviewer. “I remember I used to see him all the time riding his bicycle all over Beverly Hills, I just loved him so much. But the thing about this movie was that he was really the first one who talked about aliens as superior beings – not just monsters trying to kill us. His idea was that if they were intelligent enough to get here, it was probably safe to say that they were a little smarter than us.”

In the movie, Rush performed a schoolteacher who, together with her boyfriend (Richard Carlson) spots a falling meteor that seems to be an alien spacecraft. Although the aliens duplicate the our bodies of native townspeople, they change into largely innocent. Rush received a Golden Globe for many promising feminine newcomer for her position within the movie.

Rush continued to star in main productions over the subsequent three a long time, together with enjoying James Mason’s spouse in Bigger Than Life and Dean Martin’s love curiosity in The Young Lions. She additionally appeared as Marian alongside Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Bing Crosby within the Rat Pack comedy Robin and the 7 Hoods.

On tv she was finest identified for her position in cleaning soap Peyton Place, enjoying the mom of a rebellious teenager whose marriage is breaking down. She additionally visitor starred in exhibits together with The Love Boat, Magnum PI and Murder, She Wrote.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers solely. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews till cancelled

Try without cost

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers solely. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews till cancelled

Try without cost

Rush was married thrice. Her first marriage was to actor Jeffrey Hunter between 1950 and 1955​, after which to publicist Warren Cowan between 1959 and 1969. Her remaining marriage was to sculptor​ Jim Gruzalski, from 1970 to 1973, a relationship that started after they met at an Engelbert Humperdink live performance.

She had two youngsters, Christopher and Claudia.