#Fact1She played the same character (June Cleaver) on six different series: Leave It to Beaver (1957), The Love Boat (1977), Movie Macabre (1981), The New Leave It to Beaver (1983), Baby Boom (1988) and Hi Honey, I'm Home (1991).2She was known to be a very private person.3Also briefly acted under the name Barbara Combes.4Began acting at age 19, on Broadway in a play entitled "Straw Hat".5Her first son, Drew Billingsley, was born in Key West, Florida, her second son, Glenn Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California.6After a 20 year absence on television, Billingsley made a comeback with The New Leave It to Beaver (1983).7Stepmother of William Mortensen Jr.8Created the role of June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver (1957).9Her third husband, Dr. William Mortensen, died on July 5, 1981.10After her parents' divorce, she didn't see her father.11By her first marriage, to Glenn Billingsley, she was related to the father of Peter Billingsley, Melissa Michaelsen and Neil Billingsley.12Her stepson, William Mortensen Jr., is involved in charity work.13A popular student at George Washington High School, Billingsley was voted Homecoming Queen.14Started acting in films at age 33.15Has a restaurant named after her.16Billingsley's career was revived when she made a prominent, but small role in Airplane! (1980).17Longtime friend of Shirley Jones.18After her final role on Secret Santa (2003), she retired from acting at age 87.19Barbara Billingsley died on October 16, 2010, just 7 months after Peter Graves and 1 month before Leslie Nielsen. They were all featured in the movie Airplane! (1980).20Before she was a successful actress, she once worked as a foreman at a knitting mill.21Resided in Santa Monica, California, from 1956 until her death in 2010.22Her parents were divorced when she was only 4.23Acting ran in her family.24Barbara Billingsley died on October 16, 2010. Just 3 days after her passing, Tom Bosley died. They both guest-starred on the final episode of The Love Boat (1977).25Met B-movie actress Marjorie Lord in the film The Argyle Secrets (1948); where the two began a lifelong friendship, from 1948 until Billingsley's own passing in 2010.26Began her Hollywood career as a contract player for MGM in 1945, after trying to make it on Broadway, where her only show closed after just four performances. On Broadway, she was billed as Barbara Combes, her birth name, but she was married by the time she signed her first contract, so her first credited roles were as Barbara Billingsley.27Former niece-in-law of Sherman Billingsley.28Her favorite television series to date was Leave It to Beaver (1957).29Began her TV series Leave It to Beaver (1957) at age 41.30Dropped out of Los Angeles Junior College at age 19.31Was reunited with her ex-Leave It to Beaver (1957) co-stars, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers, along with ex-Airplane! (1980) co-star, Peter Graves, on the final episode of The Love Boat (1977).32She was a staunch Republican who gave much of her time and money towards various conservative political causes. She attended several Republican National Conventions, galas, and fund-raisers. She was active in the campaigns of Wendell Willkie, Thomas E. Dewey, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush.33Was named after her mother.34Was voted high school prom queen.35Grew up in a single parent home, after her parents divorced when she was age 4.36Billingsley's mother, Lillian Combes, worked in a sweater factory for years.37Acting mentor and friends of Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers.38She was a member of the Unity Church.39She is survived by her two sons, Drew Billingsley of Granada Hills, California, and Glenn Billingsley Jr. of Phillips Ranch, California, as well as several grandchildren.40Her show, Leave It to Beaver (1957) was canceled at the end of the sixth season due to her cast mates desire to move on to other projects. Also, Tony Dow was graduating from high school, and Jerry Mathers was entering high school that same year.41Remained good friends with Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers, after Leave It to Beaver (1957).42Oprah Winfrey, once said Billingsley was her childhood television heroine.43Regularly played poker with Rod Serling's family before his death.44Before she became a successful actress, she once worked with a magician, balancing cards.45Is a fan of the late Richard Mulligan's two comedy shows: Soap (1977) and Empty Nest (1988), and appeared in an episode of "Empty Nest" in 1991.46Her granddaughter, Taylor, wanted to follow in her grandmother's footsteps of becoming an actress but her parents wouldn't allow her to begin as a child actress.47Was a friend of the late Rod Serling.48Met Jim Henson at a party, before he hired her to voice Nanny on Muppet Babies (1984).49Auditioned for the role of Danny Thomas's second wife on Make Room for Daddy (1953).50When she was little, Barbara's mother would often take her to the movies with her. Her mother loved dramas rather than comedies.51She followed Ronald Reagan's career, after they co-starred in a stage play, long before he ran for governor or president.52Her son, Glenn Jr., married Karen Zappas in 1976, and they are still together. They're parents of 3, Barbara's grandchildren, Logan Billingsley, Morgan Billingsley and Taylor Billingsley.53She changed her name from Combes to Billingsley, when she married Glenn Billingsley in 1940.54Her mother, Lillian Combes, worked in a factory, while her father, Robert Collyer Combes, was the Chief of Police.55Her idols were Katharine Hepburn and Jack Benny.56Friends with: Shirley Jones, Bea Arthur, Carolyn Jones, Hugh Beaumont, Richard Deacon, Rod Serling, Ronald Reagan, Lucille Ball, Charlotte Rae, Marjorie Lord, Gloria Henry, Yvonne De Carlo, Florence Henderson, Marion Ross, Esther Rolle, Karen Grassle, Bonnie Franklin, Vicki Lawrence, Phylicia Rashad, Jean Stapleton, June Lockhart, Isabel Sanford, Peter Graves, Alley Mills, Donna Reed, Tom Bosley, Mickey Rooney and Jane Wyatt.57Her hobbies included gardening, dining, watching movies, listening to radio, tennis, drinking wine, spending time with her family, sewing and traveling.58The youngest of three children.59In 2007, she was singing at her former Leave It to Beaver (1957), co-star's, Jerry Mathers's, mother's 80th birthday party, when he returned from appearing on Broadway, in his debut role, as Wilbur Turnblad in "Hairspray".60She had a bronze statue, created by Leave It to Beaver (1957) co-star Tony Dow, on display in her backyard garden.61After her first acting role, on Broadway in "Straw Hat" (1937), closed after just four performances, she once found work as a model in order to support herself in New York City, while looking for further acting roles.62Graduated from George Washington High School in Los Angeles, California, in 1934, but instead of seeking her first acting break in Hollywood, she moved to New York City to seek her break on Broadway.63Best known by the public for her starring role as June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver (1957), which has been in continuous re-run/syndication since it ended it's original network television run in 1963.64The Cleaver clan became the iconic 1950s American nuclear family. As the mother in the show, Barbara was often seen performing her household duties wearing complementary pearls and earrings. The pearls actually were her idea. The actress bore a noticeable surgical scar on her neck and wore a strand of pearls to conceal it from the cameras.65Had two failed TV series in the early-to-mid 1950s before becoming a household commodity as June Cleaver in 1957.66She and her first husband, Glenn Billingsley, a successful restaurateur, had two sons, Drew and Glenn, Jr. Since 1974, Drew and Glenn have owned and operated Billingsley's Restaurant in West Los Angeles, in the tradition of their father, and their great uncle, Sherman Billingsley, founder of New York City's very fashionable 1940s-era nightclub, The Stork Club.67Billingsley was briefly related, by marriage (1940-1947), to actor/producer Peter Billingsley's father. Peter Billingsley is best known for his starring role as "Ralphie" in the seasonal TV-movie classic, A Christmas Story (1983). Barbara's first husband Glenn Billingsley's cousin is Peter's father.68Before Barbara, director/husband Roy Kellino was married to actress/syndicated columnist Pamela Ostrer (later to become Pamela Mason). During Pamela's marriage to Roy, she went by the stage name Pamela Kellino. Pamela later married (and divorced) actor James Mason, thereby becoming Pam.69Daughter-in-law of W.P. Kellino.70She has two sons, Drew (b. 1942) and Brud (b. 1945), from her first marriage, to Glenn Billingsley, who was a nephew of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley.71After having grown up in Los Angeles, she attended Los Angeles Junior College for one year before moving to New York City, seeking a career on Broadway. After several auditions, she won a part as "Lureen Lee" in a new play, "Straw Hat", which was to open just after Christmas 1937, on Broadway. Alas, "Straw Hat" closed after only four shows, forcing her to become a fashion model, at $60-a-week.72After the death of her second husband, Roy Kellino (who died prematurely of a heart attack in 1956), Billingsley married Dr. William Mortensen, a Santa Monica physician and widower, who was an old friend of Barbara and Roy's during their marriage.