Priscilla Pointer

Priscilla Pointer
Pointer and Michael Dunn (c. 1968)
Born	Priscilla Marie Pointer (1924-05-18) May 18, 1924 New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1948–2014
Spouses	Jules Irving ​ ​ (m. 1947; died 1979)​ Robert Symonds ​ ​ (m. 1980; died 2007)​
Children	3, including David Irving and Amy Irving
Relatives	Austin Irving (granddaughter)

Priscilla Marie Pointer (born May 18, 1924) is a retired American actress. She began her career in the theater in the late 1940s, including productions on Broadway. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood and made appearances on television beginning in the early 1950s.

Pointer is the mother of actress and singer Amy Irving, (whom she often appeared alongside as her mother or mother-in-law) therefore making her the former mother-in-law of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Bruno Barreto and the mother-in-law of documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser, Jr..

Personal life

Pointer was born on May 18, 1924, in New York City. Her mother, Augusta Leonora (née Davis), was an artist and an illustrator, and her father, Kenneth Keith Pointer, was an artist. One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Jacob Barrett Cohen, was from a Jewish family that had lived in the United States since the 1700s. Pointer turned 100 in May 2024.

Marriages and family

Pointer was married to film and stage director Jules Irving, former artistic director of Lincoln Center, from 1947 until his death in 1979; they are the parents of Katie Irving, director David Irving, and actress Amy Irving. She is the widow of Robert Symonds, whom she married in 1980.

Career

Early career

Pointer has been a performer since the late 1940s, starting her career in theatre and appearing on Broadway, and she featured in the TV series China Smith (also known as The New Adventures of China Smith) in 1954. After a long hiatus, Pointer returned to acting in the early 1970s.

Pointer's first major starring role was on the TV soap opera Where the Heart Is as Adrienne Harris Rainey from 1972 and 1973.

Pointer was a guest star on Dallas (1978 TV show) as Rebecca Barnes Wentworth seasons 4-6.

Films

Pointer has appeared in many films, including Carrie (1976), in which she played the onscreen mother of Amy Irving's character; The Onion Field (1979); Mommie Dearest (1981); Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983); A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987); David Lynch's Blue Velvet; and Coyote Moon (1999). In addition to Carrie, she has played the onscreen mother to Amy Irving in Honeysuckle Rose (1980) and Carried Away (1996). They were both in the films The Competition in 1980 and Micki & Maude in 1984.

Pointer appeared in three films directed by her son: Rumpelstiltskin (a 1987 musical version, which starred her daughter), Good-bye, Cruel World, and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.

Television

Pointer has made many guest appearances on television, including Adam-12, L.A. Law, The A-Team, Judging Amy, The Rockford Files, and Cold Case.

From 1981 to 1983, Pointer had a recurring role on the soap opera Dallas as Rebecca Barnes Wentworth, the mother of Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), and Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1976	Carrie	Eleanor Snell	Carla Tilson - Iris Clarke
	Nickelodeon	Mabel
	The Great Texas Dynamite Chase	Miss Harris
1977	The 3,000 Mile Chase	Emma Dvorak
	Looking for Mr. Goodbar	Mrs. Dunn
1979	The Onion Field	Chrissie Campbell
1980	Honeysuckle Rose	Rosella Ramsey
	The Competition	Mrs. Donellan
1981	Mommie Dearest	Mrs. Chadwick
1983	Good-bye, Cruel World	Myra
	Twilight Zone: The Movie	Miss Cox	Segment: "Kick the Can"
1984	Micki & Maude	Diana Hutchison
1985	The Falcon and the Snowman	Mrs. Lee
1986	Blue Velvet	Mrs. Beaumont
1987	Newhart	Clara Whitscomber
	Rumpelstiltskin	Queen Grizelda
	A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors	Dr. Elizabeth Simms
	From the Hip	Mrs. Martha Williams
1989	C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.	Doctor Berlin
1990	A Show of Force	Alice Ryan
	Disturbed	Nurse Francine
1992	Unbecoming Age	Grandma
1993	Painted Desert	Barbara
1996	Carried Away	Lily Henson
1999	Inferno	Mrs. Henry Howard

Partial Television Credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	China Smith (Also known as The New Adventures of China Smith)	Carla Tilson - Iris Clarke
1969	N.Y.P.D.	Woman with child in park	Episode: "The Night Watch"
1970	The High Chaparral	Mrs. Colton	Episode: "A Matter of Vengeance"
1971	The Failing of Raymond	History Teacher	TV movie
1973	Adam-12	Jacqueline Carey	Episode: "Van Nuys Division: Pete's Mustache "
1977	Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night	Laura Atherton	TV movie
1978	Quincy, M.E.	Victim's mother	Episode: "Dead and Alive"
1981-1983	Dallas	Rebecca Barnes Wentworth	44 episodes
1984	The New Mike Hammer	Edna Grundy	Episode: "Seven Dead Eyes"
	Too Close for Comfort	Betty Farnsworth	Episode: "The Sound of Mother"
	St. Elsewhere	Marie Halloran	Episode: "In Sickness and in Health"
1986-1988	L.A. Law	Judge Dorothy M. Pehlman	4 episodes
1987	Newhart	Clara Whitscomber	Episode: "Me and My Gayle"
	Rags to Riches	Ruby	Episode: "Vegas Rock"
1990-1991	The Flash	Nora Allen	3 episodes
1994	ER	Mrs. Abernathy	Episode: "The Gift"
1997	Alone	Susan Hight	TV movie
2001	Judging Amy	Margaret Palmer	Episode: "The Unforgiven"
2006	Cold Case	Lillian Vine	Episode: "Debut"
2008	Sweet Nothing in My Ear	voice of Sally	TV movie

External links

• Priscilla Pointer at IMDb
• Priscilla Pointer at the TCM Movie Database
• Priscilla Pointer at AllMovie