Barbara Read

Born in Port Arthur Ontario Canada Barbara Read was the daughter of a contractor Under contract to Columbia she was paid but never used for a single picture She quit in disgust She was later signed by Universal and was cast as one of the Craig sisters inThree Smart Girls 1936 along with Deanna Durbin and Nan Grey This was Barbaras first and best remembered film Her career was over by the time she married actor William Talman of Perry Mason fame in 1953 The couple had two children Barbara Barbie and William III Bobo The marriage was turbulent as both she and Talman suffered from alcohol problems They divorced in 1960 with Barbara gaining custody of the children Talman took over custody a year later when Barbaras alcoholism and mentalemotional problems became overbearing Committed suicide at her Laguna Beach California home when she turned on the gas jets of her stove and sealed the doors and windows She left a suicide note blaming ill health Barbara Read bore a powerful likeness to Deanna Durbin whose sister she was portraying in Three Smart Girls Date of Death 11 December 1963 Laguna Beach California suicide