Actress Priscilla Pointer, best known for her roles in the 1980s soap opera “Dallas” and horror film classic “Carrie,” has died. She was 100.
Pointer, whose children included fellow actress Amy Irving and director David Irving, died on April 28 at an assisted-living facility in Ridgefield, Connecticut, David confirmed to USA TODAY on April 29. The late actress died of natural causes.
Amy Irving mourned Pointer’s death in a heartfelt tribute post on Instagram, which featured several photos of Pointer and her family over the years.
“Priscilla Pointer, acclaimed stage television and film actress, and mother of David, Katie, and Amy Irving, died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 100, hopefully to run off with her 2 adoring husbands and her many dogs,” Amy wrote. “She most definitely will be missed.”
Born in May 1924 to artists Augusta and Kenneth Pointer, the New York-bred actress got her start in the theater, where she performed in touring productions of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “The Country Wife” and “The Condemned of Altona.”
Pointer scored her first television role in 1954 with a two-episode stint on the adventure drama series “The New Adventures of China Smith,” according to the actress’s IMDb page.
Throughout the ’70s, Pointer appeared on several TV series including “McCloud,” “The Rockford Files,” “Kojak,” “Police Woman” and “Phyllis.” In 1976, the actress made the leap to the silver screen with roles in “The Great Texas Dynamite Chase,” “Carrie” and “Nickelodeon.”
“Carrie,” a supernatural horror about an ostracized teen with telekinetic powers, saw Pointer co-star with daughter Amy Irving. Amy played Sue Snell, a classmate of Carrie’s who is scarred by the girl’s deadly rampage, while Pointer portrayed Snell’s mother.
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In the ’80s, Pointer became a household name in the soap opera world thanks to a recurring role on the Emmy-winning series “Dallas.” Pointer played Rebecca Barnes Wentworth, mother of Ken Kercheval’s Cliff Barnes, from 1981-1983.
Pointer also joined creative forces with her son David Irving. David directed Pointer in the 1987 musical fantasy “Rumpelstiltskin,” which starred Amy Irving alongside Billy Barty and Clive Revill.
In her personal life, Pointer married fellow actor Jules Irving in 1947 after the two met in Europe during an army production of “Brother Rat” following World War II. The couple later formed the Actor’s Workshop, a theater company in San Francisco.
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Pointer and Jules, who remained married until Jules’ 1979 death, shared three children: Katie, David and Amy Irving.
Pointer continued acting throughout the ’90s, appearing in series such as “The Flash,” “ER” and “Touched by An Angel.” Her final role was a 2008 voiceover performance in the Jeff Daniels-starring TV movie “Sweet Nothing in My Ear.”
