Barbara was a treasure doing housework in pearls back in the day, and then a treasure all over again in Airplane. Brilliant, inspired casting. The producers must have thought, "Who is the last person in the world you'd expect to speak jive; that's who we'll get." A fantastic idea, and didn't Barbara pull it off perfectly?
As a black person, I can tell you that it still isn't racist. I hate when people assume that an entire group thinks a certain way about a couple of words. Not saying you did that, but still.
@Z0hann When was calling two black fellas two black fellas ever racist? I have been black ALL my life and I don't kno what the hell your talking about.
@sdnm86 The producers intentionally cast actors who didn't perform comedy normally to play rolls in the movie. Leslie Nielsen and Barbra Billingsley got the greatest benefit from it. Nielsen went from being a movie of the week actor to getting top billing in movies. He was as big as he was back in the early 1960s.
I was so disappointed when they reported her death. This should have been a much bigger story. I would have loved to know that she was still with us all this time.
Its funny cuz after watchin this vid it seems like the character n airplane connects better wit the real Barbara than June Clever did! I never looked at her the same again after that scene and been a fan of hers every since! I'm also so glad to hear how that scene helped her career! RIP Barbara! My homegurl
I was a kid in the 1950's when "Leave It To Beaver" began. June Cleaver always wore nice clothes & pearls, as Barbara is here. The difference is Mrs. Cleaver never said "They didn't want Whitey to know what they were talking about". But Mrs. Cleaver did use the word "Whitey" in the show on many occasions. If you're a "Leave It To Beaver" fan you know what I mean. Barbara, thanks for all the memories.
RIP Barbara Billingsley ...... Do not grieve at the passing of mortality,for life's but a thing of terrible gravity. And the planets gravitate around you,and the stars shall dance about you, and the angels in heaven adore you, and the saints all stand and applaud you. So faraway, so faraway and yet so close. Nick Cave, "Far Away, So Close"
@gynecolog1st That was like THIRTY YEARS AGO, I'm sure at the time it was easier because they guys were helping her with it. Heck i'm going back to school after a decade and stuff that was easy for me then, isn't as easy as it used to be because my brain hasn't been thinking about that for forever. That's only 10 years, Airplane was THIRTY.
yeah, but the scene in the movie was a parody of actual urban slang, and I think that's what she's talking about. Of course, slang exists in all places and in all communities. That's why it's difficult to learn how to speak a foreign language like those who grew up with the language, because typically you learn how to speak the "formal" part of the language, but most people incorporate some form of slang or colloquialisms into their speech that is not always easy to teach to someone.
We need to hunt down the four dislikers and put them in the seat at the front of the line with the brothers holding brass knuckles, baseball bats, etc. Who in the world would dislike Barbara Billingsley? I mean, seriously?
my grandfather, who was born in 1904, used the term "colored" and didn't mean anything racist by it. The African Americans I know prefer "black". "Black" might not be accurate, but "white" isn't that accurate either. Native Americans I know don't mind "Indian", but with the growing population FROM India, using "Native American" isn't a matter of being PC, it's a matter of being clear.
