Dallas star Priscilla Pointer dead at 100: Hollywood actress was once Steven Spielberg’s mother-in-law
Dallas star Priscilla Pointer, who played the mother of one of the two main feuding families on the 1980s soap opera, has died aged 100.
Her passing was announced this Tuesday by her actress daughter Amy Irving, who was married to Steven Spielberg from 1985 to 1989.
Amy broke the news on Instagram, writing that her mother had ‘died peacefully in her sleep’ on Monday, ‘hopefully to run off with her 2 adoring husbands and her many dogs. She most definitely will be missed.’
Priscilla’s son David Irving shared that his mother ended her days at an assisted living facility in Ridgefield, Connecticut, via The Hollywood Reporter.
She appeared on a string of beloved TV series ranging from The A-Team and The Flash to L.A. Law and Judging Amy to E.R.
In addition to her television work, Priscilla also featured in a number of classic movies, including Blue Velvet, Carrie and Mommie Dearest.
Dallas star Priscilla Pointer, who played the mother of one of the two main feuding families on the 1980s soap opera, has died aged 100; pictured 1994
Her Dallas role was Rebecca Wentworth, an oil tycoon’s wife who turns out to be the long-lost mother of Cliff (Ken Kercheval) and Pam (Victoria Principal) Barnes.
The primetime soap began by highlighting the contrast between the wealthy Ewing family and the poorer Barnes family – a dynamic that gets dramatically upended by the revelation that Cliff and Pam had a rich mother all along.
Fans may also remember Priscilla from David Lynch’s 1986 thriller Blue Velvet, in which she played the mother of Kyle MacLachlan’s lead character Jeffrey.
Priscila Marie Pointer was born to two artists in New York City in 1924, and by the 1940s she was an actress in her own right, principally in the theater.
In the 1950s she also had a supporting role on the show China Smith, a half-hour adventure series starring Dan Duryea as a mercenary in Singapore.
She kept acting onstage as she raised her three children David, 75, Katie, 74, and Amy, 71, whom she had with her first husband Jules Irving, a filmmaker and theater director who served as the artistic director of Lincoln Center for many years.
‘Instead of using babysitters, Mama would put us in the front row where she could watch us from the stage,’ Amy told the Los Angeles Times in 1994.
Amy’s parents, along with director Herbert Blau and his actress wife Beatrice Manley, founded the San Francisco Actor’s Workshop in a loft in 1962.
Her Dallas role was Rebecca Wentworth, an oil tycoon’s wife who turns out to be the long-lost mother of Cliff (Ken Kercheval) and Pam (Victoria Principal) Barnes
Her passing was announced this Tuesday by her actress daughter Amy Irving, who was married to Steven Spielberg from 1985 to 1989; Priscilla and Amy pictured in2 006
Amy Irving and Steven Spielberg, who have remained amicable since their headline grabbing $100 million divorce, are pictured in 1979
(from left) Steve Kanaly, Patrick Duffy, Victoria Principal, Barbara Bell Geddes, Jim Davis, Larry Hagman, Charlene Tilton and Linda Gray are pictured in publicity shot for Dallas
In Brian De Palma’s seminal 1976 thriller Carrie (pictured), Priscilla featured as the mother of the school bully played by her real life daughter Amy irving
‘My father was an amazing artistic director, and the values of the Actor’s Workshop were special. It was about the work, not money or fame,’ Amy observed. ‘Things were very disillusioning when I got out into the real world.’
In the 1970s, as her children grew older, Priscilla returned to the screen, such as in a supporting role in Brian De Palma’s iconic 1976 thriller Carrie.
Priscilla featured as Mrs. Snell, the mother of the title character’s school bully Sue Snell – played by none other than Amy in her motion picture debut.
In the 1977 crime drama Looking For Mr. Goodbar, Priscilla featured as the mother of the two lead characters played by Diane Keaton and Tuesday Weld.
Priscilla’s real family life was rocked by tragedy in 1979, when her husband Jules suffered a heart attack and died at the age of just 54.
In 1980 she married Robert Symonds, a former deputy director of the Repertory Theater Of Lincoln Center and a man she had known since they were in their 20s, remaining with him until his death in 2007.
Priscilla (left) was also in David Lynch’s 1986 thriller Blue Velvet as mother of Kyle MacLachlan’s character Jeffrey (center); pictured in the film with Frances Bay (right)
She also memorably featured in the 1981 melodrama as the headmistress of the school to which abusive mother Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) sends her daughter
In 1980 she married Robert Symonds, a former deputy director of the Repertory Theater Of Lincoln Center, remaining with him until his death in 2007; pictured 1982
The 1980s were a banner decade for Priscilla’s acting career, including not just her 44-episode run on Dallas from 1981 to 1983 but also a number of movies.
A memorable example thereof was the 1981 melodrama Mommie Dearest, in which she portrayed Mrs. Chadwick, the headmistress of the school to which abusive mother Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) sends her daughter Christina (Mara Hobel).
In a fan favorite scene, Mrs. Chadwick accuses Joan of ‘overreacting’ only to be met with the retort: ‘And I think you’re underreacting, Mrs. Chadwick.’
She continued acting on a variety of television programs, including St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, The Flash, ER, Judging Amy and Cold Case.
Her final project was a voice role in the TV movie Sweet Nothing In My Ear, which aired in 2008, the year she turned 84 years old.
Priscilla, who celebrated her 100th birthday last May, is survived by several family members including her three children and eight grandchildren.
