Star of Republic Films, Radio Soap Opera Was 102

Barbra Fuller, who starred because the daughter Claudia on the long-running radio cleaning soap opera One Man’s Household, all whereas showing in movies for Republic Footage and such TV reveals as Adventures of Superman, has died. She was 102.

Fuller, who lived within the Los Angeles space, died Wednesday, her godson J.P. Sloane introduced.

On the San Francisco-set One Man’s Household, created by Carlton E. Morse, Fuller performed one of many Barbour household’s 5 children from 1945 till the NBC Radio drama accomplished its 27-year run in 1959. Her character, a twin with children of her personal, was gone from this system for a few years earlier than she got here aboard.

“It was a enjoyable half. Claudia was lady with fascinating qualities,” she mentioned in Michael G. Fitzgerald and Boyd Magers’ 2006 e book, Girls of the Western.

In 1949, Fuller signed with Republic and was below contract with the B-picture studio for a 12 months, throughout which she was busy making 13 films, beginning with the anti-communism noir The Crimson Menace (1949).

She adopted with such different movies as Flame of Youth and Alias the Champ (that includes the wrestler Beautiful George), each launched in 1949, and The Savage Horde, Lonely Coronary heart Bandits, Tarnished (additionally starring Jimmy Lydon), Ladies From Headquarters and Harbor of Lacking Males, all these hitting theaters in 1950.

On the first-season Adventures of Superman episode “Crime Wave,” which premiered in February 1953, Fuller portrayed a girl working for “Public Enemy No. 1,” a mysterious legal waging battle in opposition to the great residents of Metropolis.

Tasked with uncovering the Man of Metal’s buddies on the Day by day Planet, her character movies Clark Kent operating into an alleyway after which Superman operating out seconds later, however one way or the other the crooks don’t put two and two collectively.

From left: Jimmy Lydon, Barbra Fuller and Arthur Franz in 1950’s ‘Tarnished.’

Courtesy Everett Assortment

Barbara Deane Fuller was born in July 1921 in Nahant, Massachusetts. After her father died when she was 3, she and her mom lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, after which moved to Chicago.

Her mother labored at a radio station within the Windy Metropolis, and that bought her a component reverse George Gobel on a children program. Fuller adopted with plenty of roles in cleaning soap operas, however when she discovered herself falling for one in every of her main males — he was married and his spouse was pregnant — she give up in 1942 and moved to New York.

Three years later, she relocated to California and with a suggestion from future Oscar-winning actress Mercedes McCambridge landed the a part of Claudia.

Someplace alongside the way in which, Fuller tweaked how she spelled her first title. “I did the Barbra spelling as an attention-getter — earlier than Streisand,” she famous.

She appeared alongside Robert Rockwell — maybe finest recognized for his flip as biology trainer Philip Boynton on the CBS comedy Our Miss Brooks — in six films at Republic.

Her movie résumé additionally included Metropolis of Dangerous Males (1953), starring Jeanne Crain and Dale Robertson, and The Roommates (1973).

Fuller starred alongside Charles Boyer on 1955-56 installments of the CBS anthology collection 4 Star Playhouse, and he or she appeared on a 1958 episode of the CBS collection Trackdown that served because the pilot for one more Western from 4 Star Tv, the Steve McQueen-starring Wished: Useless or Alive.

She additionally confirmed up on installments of Ford Tv Theater, State Trooper, The Millionaire, My Three Sons, U.S. Marshal, Perry Mason, Lassie and Daniel Boone.

Fuller married Lash LaRue, a star of low-budget Westerns, in February 1951 in Yuma, Arizona, however they had been separated by November and divorced by the next June. She was one in every of his many wives.