RIP JOANNA BARNES

1933-2022

Joanna Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She moved to Los Angeles soon after finishing her education in 1956, and was put under contract with Columbia Pictures. In the original The Parent Trap (1961) she was gold digger Vicki Robinson. Thirty-seven years later she played Vicki Blake, mother of the new gold digger, in the remake The Parent Trap (1998).

Barnes joined the Desilu family doing an episode of their celebrity interview show, “Here’s Hollywood” in 1961.  She returned for a second episode in 1962. 

In between, she did an episode of “The Untouchables” titled “The 90-Proof Dame.” 

In 1963, she did a week on Desilu’s game show “You Don’t Say” hosted by Tom Kennedy. She was paired with Wendell Corey, who had also done an episode of “The Untouchables”. 

In 1968, just before Lucille Ball sold Desilu to Paramount, Barnes appeared on an episode of “Mannix”, a series shot at Desilu and rescued from cancellation by Lucille Ball. 

Barnes’ second husband was Lawrence Dobkin, who played three roles on “I Love Lucy”:  The Counterfeiter in “Paris at Last” (1956); The Waiter in “Equal Rights” (1953); and Max, the Counter Man in “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953). Like his wife, he was also in “The Untouchables” doing three episodes. They divorced in 1967.

Barnes’ final screen appearance was in 2000. She died at age 87. She is survived by two sisters, three children, and her dog, Gracie Warner.