In Remembrance: Barbara McNair

     Barbara McNair, the nightclub singer who helped pioneer substantial roles for black women in films, has passed away on February 4, 2007 in Los Angeles, CA. She was 72.

     Born on March 4, 1934 in Racine, Wisconsin, McNair snag from the time she was a small girl in churches and school. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles before heading to New York to become a nightclub entertainer. Critical notices of her performances at the Village Vanguard nightclub earned her a role in the 1958 Broadway production The Body Beautiful. She would also appear in the 1963 Broadway production of No Strings.

     McNair made her film acting debut in the gritty crime drama If He Hollers, Let Him Go (1968). While she made headlines for a well-publicized nude scene in the film, she would don a nun’s habit to co-star with Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore in Change Of Habit (1969). Her next two films would see her collaborate with Sidney Poitier, playing his wife in They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) and its sequel The Organization (1971).

     Although she continued to perform in nightclubs, McNair’s acting career migrated towards television work through the 1970s first hosting her own syndicated musical-variety show and then with appearances on such shows as McMillan & Wife, The Mod Squad, Police Woman, Vega$ and The Jeffersons.

     Her final film was the 1996 Canadian drama Neon Signs.