BARBARA BABCOCK

February 27, 1937

Barbara Babcock was born in Fort Riley, Kansas, although she spent much of her youth in Japan because her father was a US Army General stationed abroad. Babcock studied in Switzerland and Italy and graduated from Wellesley College, where she was a classmate of Ali MacGraw.

From 1962 to 1968 she was married to actor Jay Sheffield.

Her screen (and television) debut came on a 1956 episode of “United States Steel Hour” titled “Bang the Drum Slowly” starring Paul Newman. 

Babcock worked with Lucille Ball in October 1967, playing the English Teacher in “Lucy Gets Her Diploma” (TLS S6;E5). 

The character does not have a name, but calls upon Lucy to recite a soliloquy from Hamlet. Unfortunately, a mischievous boy has put itching powder down her blouse and “To Be Or Not To Be” is not to be!  

Babcock was back at Desilu for six episodes of their hit space series, the original “Star-Trek”.  She provided voice work for four of those and actually appeared in two: “A Taste of Armageddon” (1967) and “Plato’s Stepchildren” (1968), the latter opposite Majel Barrett, who also did voice and acting work on the series and also had first appeared on “The Lucy Show.”  

Babcock is probably best remembered for playing Grace Gardener on “Hills Street Blues” (1981-87) for which she won an Emmy Award.  She was also a regular on “Dallas” (1978-82) as Liz Craig.  

She was ranked in People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1994.

She retired from acting in 2004 when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and now resides in Carmel, California.