Born Barbara Lillian Combes, she attended Los Angeles Junior College in
the mid-1930s and then moved to New York City, where she worked as a
model. In 1945, she received a contract from MGM, and she appeared in
several films during the late 1940s and 1950s, sometimes without screen
credit. In the 1950s, she turned to television and appeared in shows
including the sitcoms
Professional Father (1955)
and The Brothers (1956), as well
as guest-starring on "The Abbott and Costello Show", the
David Niven anthology series,
Four Star Playhouse (1952),
and the sitcom,
Mr. Adams and Eve (1957).
In 1957, Billingsley began starring in the sitcom,
Erwachsen müsste man sein (1957),
as "June Cleaver", mother to "Wally" and "Theodore", nicknamed
"Beaver". She appeared in her most famous role for 234 episodes,
remaining with the show until it ended after six seasons. After 17
years of semi-retirement, Billingsley returned to movies in 1980's
Die unglaubliche Reise in einem verrückten Flugzeug (1980), creating another
iconic role by spoofing her wholesome image with a brief appearance in
this send-up of 1970s disaster movies, as a middle-aged white passenger
who could translate between a white stewardess and two African-American
passengers, because "I speak jive". She also appeared in
Mein lieber Biber (1983),
which ran from 1983 to 1989, and voiced the character of "Nanny" in the
Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (1984) cartoon
series, from 1984 to 1991. Billingsley continued to act occasionally,
including appearances on the sitcoms,
Roseanne (1988) and
Harry's Nest (1988), and died at her
home, after having dealt for several years with the effects of a
rheumatoid disease.
