Barbara Billingsley (born Barbara Lillian Combes; December 22, 1915
â€" October 16, 2010) was an American film, television, voice, and
stage actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in Three
Guys Named Mike (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Invaders
from Mars (1953) and was featured in the 1957 movie The Careless
Years, opposite Natalie Trundy before appearing in recurring TV roles
such as The Brothers.Billingsley gained prominence for her best-known
role of June Cleaver, the mother in the television series Leave It to
Beaver (1957â€"1963) and its sequel The New Leave It to Beaver
(1983â€"1989). She appeared as the "Jive Lady" in Airplane! (1980),
before her final film role as Aunt Martha in the 1997 film version of
Leave It to Beaver.Billingsley was born Barbara Lillian Combes on
December 22, 1915, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lillian
Agnes (née McLaughlin; 1891-1956) and Robert Collyer Combes
(1891-1950), a police officer. She had one elder sibling, Elizabeth
(1911-1992). Barbara's parents divorced sometime before her fourth
birthday, and her father, who later became an assistant chief of
police, remarried. After the divorce, Billingsley's mother began
working as a foreman at a knitting mill.
â€" October 16, 2010) was an American film, television, voice, and
stage actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in Three
Guys Named Mike (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Invaders
from Mars (1953) and was featured in the 1957 movie The Careless
Years, opposite Natalie Trundy before appearing in recurring TV roles
such as The Brothers.Billingsley gained prominence for her best-known
role of June Cleaver, the mother in the television series Leave It to
Beaver (1957â€"1963) and its sequel The New Leave It to Beaver
(1983â€"1989). She appeared as the "Jive Lady" in Airplane! (1980),
before her final film role as Aunt Martha in the 1997 film version of
Leave It to Beaver.Billingsley was born Barbara Lillian Combes on
December 22, 1915, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lillian
Agnes (née McLaughlin; 1891-1956) and Robert Collyer Combes
(1891-1950), a police officer. She had one elder sibling, Elizabeth
(1911-1992). Barbara's parents divorced sometime before her fourth
birthday, and her father, who later became an assistant chief of
police, remarried. After the divorce, Billingsley's mother began
working as a foreman at a knitting mill.
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