Barbara Rush, Star of ‘It Came From Outer Space’ and ‘Peyton Place,’ Dies at 97
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Barbara Rush, who won a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer in “It Came From Outer Space” and went on to appear in “Peyton Place” and many other movies and TV shows, died Sunday. Her daughter, Fox News Channel correspondent Claudia Cowan, confirmed her death to Fox News Digital.
“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,” Cowan told Fox. “It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family.”
Rush appeared in soap operas including “All My Children” and on “7th Heaven,” and appeared in films such as “The Young Philadelphians,” “Robin and the 7 Hoods,” “Hombre” and “The Young Lions.” Her co-stars included Rock Hudson, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Richard Burton.
Born in Denver, Rush graduated from the U. of California, Santa Barbara, and then trained at the Pasadena Playhouse. After signing with Paramount Pictures, she made her movie debut with “The Goldbergs” and then starred in the sci-fi film “When Worlds Collide.”
Her Golden Globe came for another sci-fi role, as the fiancée of an amateur astronomer who makes contact with aliens in 1954’s “It Came From Outer Space.”
Among her TV roles were Nora Clavicle in the “Batman” TV series and The Bionic Woman’s mother. Other TV guest spots included “Maude,” “Cannon,” “Streets of San Francisco,” “Fantasy Island,” “Love Boat” and “Murder, She Wrote.” Rush made an appearance in the 1980 disco movie “Can’t Stop the Music,” then took on more TV roles in the soap opera “Flamingo Road.”
She also appeared onstage throughout her career and in 1989, starred in a national tour of “Steel Magnolias.”
Married three times, her husbands included publicist Warren Cowan.
She is survived by two children, Claudia Cowan and Christopher Hunter.
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