Nina Bara
{{Short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nina Bara
| birth_date = May 3, 1920
| birth_place = Buenos Aires, Argentina
| death_date = August 15, 1990
| death_place = Glendale, California, United States
| occupation = Actress
}}
Nina Bara (born Frances Joan Baur on May 3, 1920,{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} died August 15, 1990) was an American actress who performed in films, on television, and on old-time radio. Bara is best known for her role as "Tonga" in the 1950s TV series Space Patrol.
Early years
The daughter of an Italian mother and an American father, George Baur, Bara was born in Buenos Aires.{{cite news |title=Gals Get Together And Swap Accents |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25627725/the_pittsburgh_press/ |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=July 22, 1945 |page=26|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 22, 2018}} {{Open access}}
She was educated in Germany, Austria, and Italy.Staff, "Space Girl 'Tonga' to Appear At White-Barne Grand Opening," The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 17 November 1954, Volume LXI, Number 67, page 8.
Film
While acting in The Gay Senorita (1945), Bara helped Brooklyn-born Adele Jergens adopt a Latin accent for her role in that film. Concurrently, Bara worked to lose her own accent to make herself acceptable for a wider range of roles. Her other films included Visa and Carnival in Rio.{{cite news |title=Nina Bara, 1950s 'Space Patrol' villainess |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25714726/nina_bara/ |work=Chicago Tribune |agency=Associated Press |date=August 21, 1990 |page=24}} The former Space Patrol actress also had roles in numerous motion pictures for Columbia, MGM, Universal, 20th Century-Fox and Monogram Studios.
Radio and television
On radio, Bara portrayed Tonga, "...a former alien villain turned Space Patrol ally." in Space Patrol.{{cite book|last1=Cox|first1=Jim|title=Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age.|date=2002|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4324-6|page=310}} She also was heard on Tell It Again,{{cite news |title=Nita Bara |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25653718/nita_bara/ |work=Dayton Daily News |date=April 3, 1949 |page=44|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 23, 2018}} {{Open access}} Mr. President and The Adventures of Bill Lance.{{cite news |last1=Biggs |first1=Joy A. |title=Static |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25628635/herald_and_news/ |work=Herald and News |date=November 28, 1947 |location=Klamath Falls, Oregon |page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 22, 2018}} {{Open access}} She also appeared on Retribution, and Meet the Missus. She had the same Tonga role on the TV version of Space Patrol, which began as a local program on KECA in Los Angeles and later was carried on ABC.{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=999|edition=2nd}} In 1954, after she had left Space Patrol, Bara filed suit for invasion of privacy and breach of contract against the producers of the program and other parties. The suit alleged that kinescopes of the program were released without her consent. It also asked for an injunction to prevent use of her likeness on cereal boxes and toys.{{cite news |title=Actress Sues 'Space Patrol' Producers for $50,355 |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/54-OCR/1954-02-08-BC-OCR-Page-0034.pdf |access-date=26 November 2018 |work=Broadcasting |date=February 8, 1954 |page=34}}
In the mid-1950s, Bara was co-host of Familiar Faces, a game show on KABC-TV in Los Angeles.{{cite news |title=Familiar Femcee in Familiar Faces |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25717330/the_los_angeles_times/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 26, 1954 |page=24|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 26, 2018}} {{Open access}}
In addition to co-starring in Personal Appearance Theater for ABC-TV, Bara was also the featured comedienne with the Allan Young Show in guest spots and participated in several Life with Elizabeth films for Guild Films.
Bara appeared as "Miss EMMY" for the Award Presentation of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on February 18, 1952 and also appeared on a number of telethons during the 1950s."
Personal life
On July 10, 1952, Bara married Robert B. Sheldon, an assistant television director.{{cite news |title=Tonga of 'Space Patrol' Bride of Stage Manager |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25654600/nina_bara/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 11, 1952 |page=Part I - 21|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 23, 2018}} {{Open access}} On July 14, 1956, she married Richard Winslow Johnson, a musician. They separated on May 4, 1957, and divorced on April 14, 1958.{{cite news |title=TV Actress Tells Threat, Wins Divorce |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25654830/nina_bara/ |work=Independent |agency=Copley News Service |date=April 15, 1958 |location=Long Beach, California |page=10|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 23, 2018}} {{Open access}}
Later years
In the early 1960s, Bara made the dean's honor list at Los Angeles City College, where she majored in psychology.{{cite news |last1=Sherman |first1=Gene |title=In Air, on Ground, Air Freight's Fast |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25715092/the_los_angeles_times/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 30, 1960 |page=51|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 26, 2018}} {{Open access}} After leaving show business in the 1960s, she pursued a second career as a librarian, earning a master's degree in library science at the University of Southern California, and then established a corporate library at Blue Cross of Southern California. After retiring from there in 1985, she worked as a substitute in the city library system.{{Cite web |date=1990-08-17 |title=Nina Bara, 70; Acted in TV's 'Space Patrol' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-17-mn-778-story.html |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
Death
On August 15, 1990, Bara died of cancer at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. She was 70.{{cite news |title=Nina Bara, 70; Acted in TV's 'Space Patrol' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25653312/nina_bara/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 17, 1990 |page=A 30|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 23, 2018}} {{Open access}}
References
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Category:American film actresses
Category:American radio actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Argentine emigrants to the United States
Category:Argentine expatriates in Germany