
Priscilla Pointer, ‘Dallas' and ‘Carrie' actor and mom to Oscar nominee Amy Irving, dies at 100
She 'died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 100, hopefully to run off with her 2 adoring husbands and her many dogs,' the 'Crossing Delancey' star said Tuesday on social media. 'She most definitely will be missed.'
For 44 episodes of CBS' series 'Dallas,' Pointer played Rebecca Barnes Wentworth, Pamela and Cliff's mother and the head of a rival oil family. In the 1976 movie 'Carrie' she played Mrs. Snell, mother to Sue Snell, who was played by her daughter Amy.
She was just shy of her 101st birthday, according to a family statement obtained by The Times.
'Priscilla had a long acting career. She met her first husband Jules Irving in Europe just after WWII in an army production of 'Brother Rat,'' the statement said. 'They returned to the U.S. and formed the Actor's Workshop in San Francisco. The company eventually took over the Vivian Beaumont Theater in NYC.'
Pointer, who was born in New York City on May 18, 1924, began her stage career in the city the 1940s. She was was married to Irving from 1947 until his death in 1979, moving out west with him after the war. They returned to New York City as the San Francisco troupe was winding down and Irving served as artistic director of Manhattan's Lincoln Center from 1965 to 1972. The couple moved to Southern California after he retired, settling down in Santa Monica.
After her first husband died, Pointer married Robert Symonds. The two knew each other from San Francisco, and Symonds had moved to New York from California to work as Irving's associate director at the Lincoln Center.
Symonds recalled meeting Pointer for the first time at the Actor's Workshop in San Francisco, where she was 'sitting at a desk typing a letter,' he told The Times in 1997. 'I remember she was very, very pretty.'
Former Times staff writer Daryl H. Miller dubbed Pointer a 'natural beauty.'
'Whether hunkered on the floor petting a dog or sitting pertly on a couch,' he wrote, 'she is regal yet casual, arresting yet homespun.'
Amy Irving told The Times in 1997 that her mother and Symonds were 'unbelievably well-suited' as a couple. 'I know my mom and dad were deeply in love with each other, but Mom and Bob have so much in common,' she said. 'There's such harmony in their lives, a really nice balance. They spark each other.'
The couple's joint projects included the 1984 Blake Edwards film 'Micki & Maude,' in which they played Ann Reinking's parents, and the 1993 South Coast Repertory production of 'Morning's at Seven,' in which they played brother- and sister-in-law. 'First Love' at the Odyssey Theater in 2003 and the 2000 production of Athol Fugard's 'Road to Mecca' at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood were also twofer shows.
When Pointer and Symonds worked together on the 1997 production of 'Fighting Over Beverly,' also at the Fountain, they rehearsed at home and carpooled across town to the theater, but their characters weren't supposed to have seen each other in 50 years.
'That really requires acting,' Pointer told The Times, 'because instead of having known him for 43 years, I have to pretend — and so does he — that we haven't seen each other since we were 18.'
'The unflappable Pointer sails above the general mayhem with a ladylike aplomb that makes her subsequent emotional epiphany all the more moving,' The Times wrote about Pointer's performance in that show.
Amy Irving told The Times in 2007, 'I grew up watching my dad directing Mom and Bob in the leads of plays, and the three of them were best friends. That was where I began to develop my passion for acting and learn how to do it.'
Pointer went solo in shows including 'At Long Last Leo' at South Coast Repertory in 1988 and the 1985 movie 'The Falcon and the Snowman,' amassing close to 100 film and TV credits between 1954 and 2014.
After Symonds died in 2007 from complications of prostate cancer, Pointer kept performing, including a 2017 role in 'Night and Dreams: A Schubert & Beckett Recital' at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, where she played one of the amusing old ladies of Beckett's 'Come and Go.' The women each whispered something about another, then launched into 'Lachen und Weinen,' Schubert's song about laughter being a lover's defense against tears.
Pointer is survived by her three children from her first marriage, David, Katie and Amy, and many grandchildren.
Times classical music critic Mark Swed and former Times staff writer Daryl H. Miller contributed to this report.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Tom's Guide
44 minutes ago
- Tom's Guide
Netflix drops new look at 'Frankenstein' — and it teases a deliciously dark and haunting journey
Netflix has just dropped a striking series of new images for Guillermo del Toro's upcoming adaptation of 'Frankenstein.' In these freshly released stills for the Netflix movie, Jacob Elordi emerges almost unrecognizable as Frankenstein's monster, with his face shrouded in a hood and scarf, revealing patchwork greenish skin, sewn scars, and a deliberately unsettling lack of eyebrows. The images also show Oscar Isaac in the role of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, captured delivering a lecture in a grand medical hall, while Mia Goth appears in character as Elizabeth Lavenza with her stunning blue outfit design. Additional character portraits include Christoph Waltz as Dr. Pretorius (or Harlander), Charles Dance as Leopold Frankenstein, and a younger Victor Frankenstein played by Christian Convery, all standing in rooms that look both beautifully ornate and quietly falling apart. These new images really lean into del Toro's style. It's dark, detailed and kind of beautiful in a twisted way. But there's more going on beneath the surface too — a creature trying to understand what he is and a creator who clearly has his own demons. Set to premiere globally on Netflix in November 2025, following its debut at major film festivals such as Venice and Toronto, this Gothic adaptation could be one of the platform's most ambitious releases of the year. Along with the new images, there's also an official synopsis: 'Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley's classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.' Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Vanity Fair reports that del Toro's take on 'Frankenstein' will explore the characters' family relationships more deeply. He explained, 'These are the parallels between Pinocchio and Frankenstein. It's the idea of a person going from a baby to a human being in a short span of time and being exposed to everything — cold, warmth, violence, love, loss. 'And then going to his creator to say, 'Why? Why did you put me here? Why didn't you give me the answers? What do I have to learn in my suffering?'' 'Frankenstein' features a talented cast to bring Mary Shelley's classic characters to life. Oscar Isaac stars as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the brilliant but troubled scientist behind the monstrous creation, played by Jacob Elordi. Mia Goth appears as Elizabeth Lavenza, while Christoph Waltz takes on the role of Dr. Pretorius. The movie also includes Felix Kammerer as William, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley as a blind man, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, and Ralph Ineson as Professor Krempe, all in key but as-yet undisclosed roles. Elordi said he went back and watched every 'Frankenstein' movie he could find, including the classics dating all the way back to 1931. 'I devoured all of his monsters,' he said, referring to Boris Karloff's iconic version of the creature. 'At first I thought, 'I'll stay away from this. I want to do my own thing.' And then I asked Guillermo, 'Should I watch the other Frankensteins?' And he goes, 'What do you mean?' I was like, 'Well, I don't want it to be influenced.' He says, 'My friend, it's a movie, it can't hurt you.' I went home, and I just binged them.' The first teaser for 'Frankenstein' was released during Netflix's Tudum event. The gothic look and del Toro's signature dark, detailed style come through loud and clear. But now seeing the new images, Elordi's transformation looks genuinely impressive, and there's a real emotional weight hinted at in the teaser. Overall, it's got me genuinely excited to see how the filmmaker's vision plays out on screen. It's also important to note that this is a gothic horror, so expect plenty of dark visuals along with intense, bloody scenes and some truly grisly moments that should stay faithful to the genre's chilling roots. You can stream 'Frankenstein' on Netflix in November 2025. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.


CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Jamie Lee Curtis has thoughts about the harm done to ‘a generation of women by the cosmeceutical industrial complex'
Jamie Lee Curtis understands that using the word 'genocide' to describe plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures might not go over well for some, but she's not backing down. 'I've been very vocal about the genocide of a generation of women by the cosmeceutical industrial complex,' the actress told The Guardian in a recently published interview. 'I've used that word for a long time and I use it specifically because it's a strong word. I believe that we have wiped out a generation or two of natural human (appearance).' The 'Freakier Friday' star caused a stir years ago when she posed for a magazine cover in her underwear and no makeup to show the reality of what she looked like at the time. Now 66, Curtis told The Guardian that 'the concept that you can alter the way you look through chemicals, surgical procedures, fillers – there's a disfigurement of generations of predominantly women who are altering their appearances.' She added that the trend 'is aided and abetted by AI, because now the filter face is what people want.' 'I'm not filtered right now. The minute I lay a filter on and you see the before and after, it's hard not to go: 'Oh, well that looks better.' But what's better?,' the Oscar-winner continued. 'Better is fake. And there are too many examples – I will not name them – but very recently we have had a big onslaught through media, many of those people.' Elsewhere in the interview, Curtis described how she would respond to other public-facing personalities in her business that may have indeed had plastic surgery, saying, 'It doesn't matter.' 'I'm not proselytising to them. I would never say a word,' she said. 'I would never say to someone: what have you done? All I know is that it is a never-ending cycle. That, I know. Once you start, you can't stop. But it's not my job to give my opinion; it's none of my business.' This is far from the first time Curtis has commented on what it means to age in Hollywood. During a 2024 appearance on 'Today,' the star said she was 'very much in acceptance of what I look like and I own what I think and feel. And that, to me, is what maturity is.' 'You own what you think and feel. I say what I mean. I mean what I say. I try not to say it mean. And that's a way then to grow into my old age.'


New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Sequel to Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz's beloved 90s rom-com ‘My Best Friend's Wedding' announced
An Oscar-nominated director has been hired to pen a sequel to classic '90s rom-com 'My Best Friend's Wedding.' The original film, starring Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts, became a box office success upon its release in 1997. The movie has since gone on to be considered one of the most iconic films within its genre. It featured Roberts and Dermot Mulroney as Julianne and Michael, a pair of best friends who made a pact that if they were still single at age 28, they would get married. When Mulroney's character gets engaged to another women, played by Diaz, Roberts had just four days to stop the wedding. Director Celine Song, best known for her Oscar nominated romantic drama Past Lives, has been hired by Sony to write the script for the sequel. Song had another hit this year with follow-up The Materialists starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. 'My Best Friend's Wedding' premiered in 1997. Official news of a sequel to 'My Best Friend's Wedding' comes shortly after Mulroney revealed that 'there is talk of a sequel' during an interview with the New York Post. When asked about the potential for a follow-up, he said: 'I know nothing about it. Last I heard, quote, lawyers were talking, unquote.' The original was a big hit when it was released, earning $127 million in the US and three Golden Globe nominations in best musical and comedy, as well as acting nods for Roberts and Rupert Everett. Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts starred in the box office hit. It comes after it was announced that yet another classic movie is getting a sequel after more than two decades. Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha has confirmed she is working on a sequel to the hit 2002 film, which starred Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra. It will be released in 2027 in honour of Bend It Like Beckham's 25th anniversary and also to coincide with the FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. Chadha told the BBC she'd received requests for a follow-up 'almost twice a week' since the release of the original, which was made on a $7.2 million budget and became a box office hit, making around $120 million worldwide. 'We've been part of changing the game for women, so it felt like this was a good time for me to go back and investigate the characters,' she explained. It's not yet clear whether the new instalment will be a film or TV series, but Chadha said she hoped to reunite some of the original cast members.