Barbara Tarbuck

Biography

Tarbuck was born in Detroit, Michigan. From the ages of 9-13, Tarbuck performed as a regular on the children's series Storyland, which aired on the Detroit AM Radio Station WWJ. From there, she learned acting skills from veteran actors from radio shows as The Lone Ranger, The Shadow and The Green Hornet.

Tarbuck attended Cooley High School and Wayne State University. Upon winning the Eva Woodbridge Victor Scholarship, she finished her Bachelors in 1963. While in college, she participated in the production of Where's Charley, which toured through Europe. She also earned her Master's Degree in Theatre from the University of Michigan. She then went to Indiana University to work as the lead actress in their inaugural theatre touring company season.

She began to work on her PhD and taught beginning acting. While at Indiana University, she was granted a Fulbright Scholarship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She then moved to New York City to pursue her acting career in stage, film, and television productions. In her later career, alongside her acting roles, she taught acting at UCLA.

She married James Denis Connolly in 1980; he died in 2005. They had one child, Jennifer Lane Connolly, who is currently a documentary producer.

Tarbuck had the neurodegenerative Creutzfeldt–Jakob disorder. She died due to complications of the disease in her Los Angeles home on December 26, 2016 at the age of 74.