LOS ANGELES – Barbara McNair, the pioneering black singer-actress who hosted her own TV variety show, has died, her sister said Monday. She was 72.
McNair died Sunday after a battle with throat cancer in Los Angeles, sister Jacqueline Gaither said.
“She was very family oriented,” Gaither said. “She was more than just a star or a famous personality. She was a person of her own.”
Gaining fame in the 1960s as a nightclub singer, McNair graduated to film and television as opportunities were opening up for black women late in the decade.
She starred with Elvis Presley in his 1969 film “Change of Habit” and as Sidney Poitier’s wife in the 1970 film “They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!” She hosted television’s “The Barbara McNair Show,” a syndicated musical and comedy program, from 1969 to 1972.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
