Claudia Barrett (born Imagene Williams;[1] November 3, 1929 – April 30, 2021)[2] was an American television and film actress.
Early life
Barrett was born in West Los Angeles, California,[1] the daughter of Arvilla Benton and Iman J. Williams.[2][3] She was raised as a Christian Scientist and had two brothers.[2] At the urging of her mother, she began taking acting classes at an early age to overcome her shyness.[4][5] She won Miss Sherman Oaks beauty contest.[2] After she left Van Nuys High School[2] she studied at Pasadena Community Playhouse for a year and acted at Encino Little Theatre.[3]
Career
1953 poster for Robot Monster
Although she was mainly involved with television, Barrett's acting career began with film in the late 1940s and 1950s. At age 18, she was signed (as Imagene Williams) to a contract with Warner Bros.[6] Her first movie appearance was in the 1949 classic film noir White Heat starring James Cagney and Virginia Mayo. The next year, she had the part of Miss Dolly Travers in MGM's The Happy Years, which starred Dean Stockwell, Darryl Hickman, and Leo G. Carroll. After leaving Warner Bros., she appeared in several films at Republic Pictures, a studio that for the most part produced Westerns. She could ride a horse after learning as a Girl Scout.[2] Her other film credits included The Story of Seabiscuit and Chain Lightning, as well as one of the leads of A Life at Stake, a murder drama starring Angela Lansbury. In 1953, she played one of the lead roles, Alice, in the low-budget science-fiction film Robot Monster, generally regarded as one of the worst films of all time.[7] She had accepted the part against the advice of her agent.[5] She said the following about her role:
When you decide to make a movie, the decision is made for various reasons: money, fame, or working with a particular star or director. I just wanted to act. I was a professional actress for 14 years, and I really loved the business. And Robot Monster was a movie I enjoyed making.
Despite her love of acting, Barrett's career began to slow down in the mid 60s. In 1964, she retired from acting and worked in film distribution and publicity, eventually landing a job at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, working in the division that produced the awards for scientific and technical advances. Barrett stayed in that position from 1981 to 1995 when she retired from the film industry.[1][2]
Personal life
Barrett was married to actor Alan Wells between 1953 and 1956. Wells later married actress Barbara Lang, but on June 5, 1957, Lang sought an annulment, alleging that Wells had not received a final divorce from Barrett when he and Lang married.[8]
During a 1984 visit to Ireland, Barrett took up painting and upon her return home, enrolled in art classes.[4] In her later life, Barrett began to write poetry and followed the Centers for Spiritual Living;[2] in 2019 she released a book of spiritual poetry.[9] Barrett died of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, California on April 30, 2021, at the age of 91.[10]
