# Priscilla Pointer

Priscilla Marie Pointer (born May 18, 1924) is a retired American actress. She began her career in the theater in the late 1940s, including productions on Broadway. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood and made appearances on television beginning in the early 1950s.
Pointer is the mother of actress and singer Amy Irving, making her the former mother-in-law of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Bruno Barreto and the mother-in-law of documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser Jr.

## Personal life

Pointer was born on May 18, 1924, in New York City. Her mother, Augusta Leonora (née Davis), was an artist and an illustrator, and her father, Kenneth Keith Pointer, was an artist. One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Jacob Barrett Cohen, was from a Jewish family who had lived in the United States since the 1700s. Pointer turned 100 in May 2024.

## Marriages and family

Pointer was married to film and stage director Jules Irving, former artistic director of Lincoln Center, from 1947 until his death in 1979; they are the parents of Katie Irving, director David Irving, and actress Amy Irving. She is the widow of Robert Symonds, whom she married in 1980.

## Career
### Early career

Pointer has been a performer since the late 1940s, starting her career in theatre and appearing on Broadway, including several tours in "A Streetcar Named Desire", "The Country Wife" and "The Condemned of Altona", and she featured in the TV series China Smith (also known as The New Adventures of China Smith) in 1954. After a long hiatus, Pointer returned to acting in the early 1970s.
Pointer's first major starring role was on the TV soap opera Where the Heart Is as Adrienne Harris Rainey from 1972 and 1973.
Pointer was a guest star on Dallas (1978 TV show) as Rebecca Barnes Wentworth seasons 4-6.

### Films

Pointer has appeared in many films, including Carrie (1976), in which she played the onscreen mother of Amy Irving's character; The Onion Field (1979); Mommie Dearest (1981); Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983); A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987); David Lynch's Blue Velvet; and Coyote Moon (1999). In addition to Carrie, she has played the onscreen mother to Amy Irving in Honeysuckle Rose (1980) and Carried Away (1996). They were both in the films The Competition in 1980 and Micki & Maude in 1984.
Pointer appeared in three films directed by her son: Rumpelstiltskin (a 1987 musical version, which starred her daughter), Good-bye, Cruel World, and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.

### Television

Pointer has made many guest appearances on television, including Adam-12, L.A. Law, The A-Team, Judging Amy, The Rockford Files, and Cold Case.
From 1981 to 1983, Pointer had a recurring role on the soap opera Dallas as Rebecca Barnes Wentworth, the mother of Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), and Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany).

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 1976 | Carrie | Eleanor Snell | Carla Tilson - Iris Clarke |
| 1976 | Nickelodeon | Mabel | |
| 1976 | The Great Texas Dynamite Chase | Miss Harris | |
| 1977 | The 3,000 Mile Chase | Emma Dvorak | |
| 1977 | Looking for Mr. Goodbar | Mrs. Dunn | |
| 1979 | The Onion Field | Chrissie Campbell | |
| 1980 | Honeysuckle Rose | Rosella Ramsey | |
| 1980 | The Competition | Mrs. Donellan | |
| 1981 | Mommie Dearest | Mrs. Chadwick | |
| 1983 | Good-bye, Cruel World | Myra | |
| 1983 | Twilight Zone: The Movie | Miss Cox | Segment: "Kick the Can" |
| 1984 | Micki & Maude | Diana Hutchison | |
| 1985 | The Falcon and the Snowman | Mrs. Lee | |
| 1986 | Blue Velvet | Mrs. Beaumont | |
| 1987 | Newhart | Clara Whitscomber | |
| 1987 | Rumpelstiltskin | Queen Grizelda | |
| 1987 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | Dr. Elizabeth Simms | |
| 1987 | From the Hip | Mrs. Martha Williams | |
| 1989 | C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. | Doctor Berlin | |
| 1990 | A Show of Force | Alice Ryan | |
| 1990 | Disturbed | Nurse Francine | |
| 1992 | Unbecoming Age | Grandma | |
| 1993 | Painted Desert | Barbara | |
| 1996 | Carried Away | Lily Henson | |
| 1999 | Inferno | Mrs. Henry Howard | |

### Partial Television Credits

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954 | China Smith (Also known as The New Adventures of China Smith) | Carla Tilson - Iris Clarke |
| 1969 | N.Y.P.D. | Woman with child in park | Episode: "The Night Watch" |
| 1970 | The High Chaparral | Mrs. Colton | Episode: "A Matter of Vengeance" |
| 1971 | The Failing of Raymond | History Teacher | Television film |
| 1973 | Adam-12 | Jacqueline Carey | Episode: "Van Nuys Division: Pete's Mustache " |
| 1977 | Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night | Laura Atherton | Television film |
| 1978 | Quincy, M.E. | Victim's mother | Episode: "Dead and Alive" |
| 1981-1983 | Dallas | Rebecca Barnes Wentworth | 44 episodes |
| 1984 | The New Mike Hammer | Edna Grundy | Episode: "Seven Dead Eyes" |
| 1984 | Too Close for Comfort | Betty Farnsworth | Episode: "The Sound of Mother" |
| 1984 | St. Elsewhere | Marie Halloran | Episode: "In Sickness and in Health" |
| 1986-1988 | L.A. Law | Judge Dorothy M. Pehlman | 4 episodes |
| 1987 | Newhart | Clara Whitscomber | Episode: "Me and My Gayle" |
| 1987 | Rags to Riches | Ruby | Episode: "Vegas Rock" |
| 1990-1991 | The Flash | Nora Allen | 3 episodes |
| 1994 | ER | Mrs. Abernathy | Episode: "The Gift" |
| 1997 | Alone | Susan Hight | Television film |
| 2001 | Judging Amy | Margaret Palmer | Episode: "The Unforgiven" |
| 2006 | Cold Case | Lillian Vine | Episode: "Debut" |
| 2008 | Sweet Nothing in My Ear | voice of Sally | Television film |