Priscilla Pointer obit

Actor Priscilla Pointer Has Died at 100

Ms. Pointer was one of the last surviving legends from Tennessee Williams' cavalcade, having performed in the original tour of A Streetcar Named Desire.

 She was not on the list.

Actor Priscilla Pointer died April 28, after a well-lived life of 100 years. She died in her sleep, just short of her 101st birthday. News of her passing was confirmed by her daughter, Amy Irving.

Ms. Pointer was one of the last surviving legends from Tennessee Williams cavalcade, having performed in the original tour of A Streetcar Named Desire. An ever-reliable interpreter of Williams' work, she performed in countless productions of his plays, including the 1970 Broadway revival of Camino Real, and the 1973 revival of Streetcar.

Ms. Pointer was born May 18, 1924 in New York City. For much of Ms. Pointer's professional career, she worked alongside her first husband, Jules Irving, with whom she co-founded the San Francisco Actors' Workshop (with Herbert Blau and Beatrice Manley also joining in). The company was immensely successful, and for a time it controlled the Vivian Beaumont theatre in New York—prior to the establishment of Lincoln Center Theater.

On Broadway, Ms. Pointer starred in 13 total productions, including the original Broadway productions of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Condemned of Altona, Yerma, and The East Wind. Following the death of Mr. Irving in 1979, she married director Robert Symonds, who had co-led the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center alongside Mr. Irving. Mr. Symonds predeceased Ms. Pointer in 2007.

Offstage, Ms. Pointer was a familiar face on film and television, including the original film of Carrie, Mommie Dearest, David Lynch's Blue Velvet, and more. Her daughter, Amy Irving, is an Academy Award nominee, having playing alongside her mother in numerous films, including the aforementioned Carrie, Honeysuckle Rose, and Carried Away. Additionally, Ms. Pointer appeared in three films directed by her son David: the 1987 musical adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin, Good-bye, Cruel World, and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.

Ms. Pointer is survived by her three children, David, Katie, and Amy. Pointer was the mother of actress and singer Amy Irving, making her the former mother-in-law of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Bruno Barreto.

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1976

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1976

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1974

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1974

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7.7

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1973

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1971

 

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6.9

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1971

1 episode

 

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7.2

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1971

 

The Name of the Game (1968)

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7.6

TV Series

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1970

1 episode

 

Leif Erickson, Linda Cristal, Henry Darrow, Cameron Mitchell, and Mark Slade in The High Chaparral (1967)

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7.6

TV Series

Mrs.Colton

1970

1 episode

 

Vince Edwards in Matt Lincoln (1970)

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6.5

TV Series

1970

1 episode

 

N.Y.P.D. (1967)

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7.3

TV Series

Woman

1969

1 episode

 

The New Adventures of China Smith

7.1

TV Series

Iris Clark

Carla Tilson

1954

2 episodes

 

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8.5

Video

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2010

 

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Short

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2002

 

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7.4

Video

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2001

 

Intimate Portrait (1990)

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7.4

TV Series

Self

1999

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

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TV Series

Mrs. Beaumont (archive footage)

2005

1 episode

 

Emily Bergl in The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

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4.8

Mrs. Snell (archive footage, uncredited)

1999