Barbara Colby, a talented actress born in 1939 in New York City, grew up predominantly in New Orleans where her interest in acting developed during her high school years. She received a scholarship to Bard College on the Hudson and later attended the Paris Sorbonne University in France for a single semester.
Colby's professional career began on the New York stage, where she impressed in various plays, including "Six Characters in Search of an Author" in 1964 and "The Devils" in 1965. She continued to work in the theater throughout the 1960s, appearing in productions such as "Under Milk Wood," "Murder in the Cathedral," and "Dear Liar."
In 1971, Colby made her television debut in an episode of Columbo, marking the beginning of a bi-coastal career. She went on to appear in a range of TV shows, including The Odd Couple, McMillan & Wife, The F.B.I., Medical Center, Kung Fu, and Gunsmoke.
Colby's breakthrough role came in 1974 when she played a worldly prostitute in a classic episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her performance impressed the show's producers, who brought her character back in a subsequent episode. This led to a spin-off series, Phyllis, in which Colby played a regular role alongside Cloris Leachman.
Tragedy struck on July 24, 1975, when Colby was shot and killed by two gang members in a parking garage area in Venice, California. She was just 36 years old and had only appeared in three episodes of Phyllis. The killers were never caught, and the case remains a "cold case."
