BarBara Luna
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Barbara Ann Luna was born on March 2, in Manhattan and virtually
grew up on Broadway. Her Italian, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese and
Filipino background has led her to portray a variety of roles.
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein II cast her in
the Broadway hit musical "South Pacific", as Ngana, which was spoken
entirely in French. When she outgrew her sarong, Luna, as she prefers
to be called, was cast again by Rodgers and Hammerstein in "The King
and I". When the show was closing after many years, Luna auditioned for
the understudy role of Lotus Blossom in "Teahouse of the August Moon".
Not only was she hired, but she was given the starring role--which was
spoken entirely in Japanese--in the first national touring company for
three years. While she was appearing with "Teahouse" in Los Angeles,
she was seen by producer/director
Mervyn LeRoy, who cast her as Camille, a
blind girl who was the love interest for
Frank Sinatra in
The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961),
also starring Spencer Tracy.
This led to other films, such as
Firecreek (1968) with
James Stewart and
Henry Fonda,
Ship of Fools (1965) with
Vivien Leigh,
Simone Signoret and
Oskar Werner, and the prison drama
The Concrete Jungle (1982)
portraying Cat, the queen bee of the prison. Her exotic beauty and
timeless look, along with her talent, has afforded her the opportunity
to have a lengthy television career, as well. She is remembered by
Star Trek (1966) fans for her
portrayal of Lt. Marlena Moreau in the all-time classic episode
"Mirror, Mirror" from the original series. She has guest-starred on
nearly 500 television series. Some of her favorites are
Aaron Spelling productions such as
Fantasy Island (1977). Other
favorites are Dallas (1978),
The Bill Cosby Show (1969),
Hunter (1984),
Mission: Impossible (1966)
(and its 1988 reincarnation,
Mission: Impossible (1988)),
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979),
The Outer Limits (1963) and
many others.
Luna continued to keep one foot on Broadway; in between film
commitments, she appeared in a revival of "West Side Story" as Anita,
at Lincoln Center in New York City. This was followed by the role of
Morales in "A Chorus Line", where she got to sing the beautiful
Marvin Hamlisch tune, "What I Did For
Love". This inspired the multi-talented Luna to meet with Oscar nominee
Marc Shaiman to have him write a nightclub
act for her, and that he did: "An Evening with BarBara Luna". A New
York reviewer, after her first engagement, said, "Ms. Luna can take the
cabaret scene by storm". This review was noticed by agent Lee Solomon
of the William Morris Agency office. He called and booked Luna to open
for Bill Cosby at the Concord Hotel in the
Catskills and Caesars Palace in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While she
was singing at Freddies in New York City, she was offered a role in a
soap opera.
After a six-month stint as Anna Ryder (a role she created) on
Search for Tomorrow (1951),
she was then offered a two-year contract to play Maria Roberts on
One Life to Live (1968).
This character very quickly became notorious and extremely popular as
the "character everyone loved to hate". Spelling then hired Luna for
her to play Sydney Jacobs, a jewelry fence, on
Sunset Beach (1997). Luna loves
to travel, so she co-hosted "The Alpen Tour", a television special for
the Travel Channel sponsored by TWA airlines that was filmed throughout
Europe. When she returned to Los Angeles, Luna performed her club act
to sold-out crowds at Tom Rolla's Gardenia Cabaret and the Cine-grill
at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Recently, Luna made her first trip to
the Philippines to film a movie for Showtime,
Noriega: God's Favorite (2000),
starring Bob Hoskins. Luna is a
member of "The Thalians", a charity foundation at Cedars-Sinai
Hospital. She is an avid sports fan, loves playing golf, tennis and
dancing on roller skates.
grew up on Broadway. Her Italian, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese and
Filipino background has led her to portray a variety of roles.
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein II cast her in
the Broadway hit musical "South Pacific", as Ngana, which was spoken
entirely in French. When she outgrew her sarong, Luna, as she prefers
to be called, was cast again by Rodgers and Hammerstein in "The King
and I". When the show was closing after many years, Luna auditioned for
the understudy role of Lotus Blossom in "Teahouse of the August Moon".
Not only was she hired, but she was given the starring role--which was
spoken entirely in Japanese--in the first national touring company for
three years. While she was appearing with "Teahouse" in Los Angeles,
she was seen by producer/director
Mervyn LeRoy, who cast her as Camille, a
blind girl who was the love interest for
Frank Sinatra in
The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961),
also starring Spencer Tracy.
This led to other films, such as
Firecreek (1968) with
James Stewart and
Henry Fonda,
Ship of Fools (1965) with
Vivien Leigh,
Simone Signoret and
Oskar Werner, and the prison drama
The Concrete Jungle (1982)
portraying Cat, the queen bee of the prison. Her exotic beauty and
timeless look, along with her talent, has afforded her the opportunity
to have a lengthy television career, as well. She is remembered by
Star Trek (1966) fans for her
portrayal of Lt. Marlena Moreau in the all-time classic episode
"Mirror, Mirror" from the original series. She has guest-starred on
nearly 500 television series. Some of her favorites are
Aaron Spelling productions such as
Fantasy Island (1977). Other
favorites are Dallas (1978),
The Bill Cosby Show (1969),
Hunter (1984),
Mission: Impossible (1966)
(and its 1988 reincarnation,
Mission: Impossible (1988)),
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979),
The Outer Limits (1963) and
many others.
Luna continued to keep one foot on Broadway; in between film
commitments, she appeared in a revival of "West Side Story" as Anita,
at Lincoln Center in New York City. This was followed by the role of
Morales in "A Chorus Line", where she got to sing the beautiful
Marvin Hamlisch tune, "What I Did For
Love". This inspired the multi-talented Luna to meet with Oscar nominee
Marc Shaiman to have him write a nightclub
act for her, and that he did: "An Evening with BarBara Luna". A New
York reviewer, after her first engagement, said, "Ms. Luna can take the
cabaret scene by storm". This review was noticed by agent Lee Solomon
of the William Morris Agency office. He called and booked Luna to open
for Bill Cosby at the Concord Hotel in the
Catskills and Caesars Palace in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While she
was singing at Freddies in New York City, she was offered a role in a
soap opera.
After a six-month stint as Anna Ryder (a role she created) on
Search for Tomorrow (1951),
she was then offered a two-year contract to play Maria Roberts on
One Life to Live (1968).
This character very quickly became notorious and extremely popular as
the "character everyone loved to hate". Spelling then hired Luna for
her to play Sydney Jacobs, a jewelry fence, on
Sunset Beach (1997). Luna loves
to travel, so she co-hosted "The Alpen Tour", a television special for
the Travel Channel sponsored by TWA airlines that was filmed throughout
Europe. When she returned to Los Angeles, Luna performed her club act
to sold-out crowds at Tom Rolla's Gardenia Cabaret and the Cine-grill
at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Recently, Luna made her first trip to
the Philippines to film a movie for Showtime,
Noriega: God's Favorite (2000),
starring Bob Hoskins. Luna is a
member of "The Thalians", a charity foundation at Cedars-Sinai
Hospital. She is an avid sports fan, loves playing golf, tennis and
dancing on roller skates.