Happy B-day Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990)

Like most veteran actors and actresses, I loved her early work most. In 1928 Barbara moved to Hollywood, where she was to start one of the most lucrative careers filmdom had ever seen. She was an extremely versatile actress who could adapt to any role. Barbara was equally at home in all genres, from melodramas, such as Forbidden (1932) and Stella Dallas (1937), to thrillers, such as Double Indemnity (1944), one of her best films, also starring Fred MacMurray (as you have never seen him before). She also excelled in comedies such as Remember the Night (1940) and The Lady Eve (1941). Another genre she excelled in was westerns, Union Pacific (1939) being one of her first and TV’s “The Big Valley” (1965) (her most memorable role) being her last. In 1983, she played in the ABC hit mini-series “The Thorn Birds” (1983), which did much to keep her in the eye of the public. She turned in an outstanding performance as Mary Carson.