Barbara Harris began acting while still a teenager in Chicago, playing small parts in the Playwrights Theatre CLUB (whose other players included such youngsters as Edward Asner, Mike Nichols and Elaine May). She was also in "The Compass Players", the first ongoing improvisational theatre troupe in America, directed by her then-husband Paul Sills (who founded the theatre based on principles create ...
show all Barbara Harris began acting while still a teenager in Chicago, playing small parts in the Playwrights Theatre CLUB (whose other players included such youngsters as Edward Asner, Mike Nichols and Elaine May). She was also in "The Compass Players", the first ongoing improvisational theatre troupe in America, directed by her then-husband Paul Sills (who founded the theatre based on principles created by his mother, Viola Spolin, the author of "Improvisation for the Theatre"). A more polished version of the Compass, called "The Second City", was an enormous hit in Chicago and was moved to Broadway, where she was nominated for a Tony. She starred in a series of notable stage productions, including "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"; "Oh Dad Poor Dad"; "The Apple Tree" (Tony Award, 1967) and "Mother Courage". Her film credits include major roles in "A Thousand Clowns", "The Seduction of Joe Tynan", "Nashville", "Freaky Friday", "Plaza Suite", "Movie Movie", "PEggy Sue Got Married", "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", "Family Plot", "The War Between Men and Women", "Second Hand Hearts", "Grosse Point Blank", "North Avenue Irregulars", "Who is Harry Kellerman" and the film version of "Oh Dad Poor Dad". TV appearances include episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock" and "The Middle Ages".
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