(Collage created by Caledonian Kitty. Picture credits: The Movie Database, 24 Femmes Per Second)She was held in high regard as one of the most promising up and coming actresses to have ever graced the small screen, but Barbara Colby's name might not be familiar to a lot of us. Why is this the case? Well, sadly she is no longer with us because of a cruel, heartless and almost 'execution' like attack that took place involving Barbara and a fellow male actor just as they were leaving an acting class (of which Barbara was a Drama coach) on the 24th of July 1975 in Venice, California. To this day the case that shocked America remains unsolved.
Barbara was just 36 years old and already had a glittering career behind her with many highlights to be proud of. Having shone on Broadway she found her comfortable place on the small screen and appeared in everything from The Mary Tyler Moore show to Columbo. She was a hit with TV viewers and it was not an unusual occurrence for Barbara to be asked to appear in a small acting role only to be offered a more prominent one or another opportunity elsewhere. She was versatile, professional and a joy to work with. She was married to the son of the famous stage legend Ethel Merman but at the time of her death, she and her husband were taking some time apart.
Despite being a seasoned actress who'd starred both on the stage and small screen, Barbara was 100% committed to her craft and was always dedicated to growing as an actor through not only taking acting classes but also teaching drama sessions.
At the time of her death she was on the cusp of becoming more well known with exciting opportunities that sadly she never got to pursue.
On the 24th of July 1975, Barbara had been teaching an acting class with fellow actor and good friend, James Kiernan. As the pair headed out of the door along with other members of the class, they stopped to have a conversation which was often the case after they'd attended class. This was a regular routine and nothing seemed out of the ordinary on this day until out of nowhere, a car pulled up close to them and two African-American men suddenly pulled out a gun and shot them, Barbara was shoot once and so was James, nothing was said, it happened so fast and before anyone knew what was happening the two men sped away in their car.
Barbara sadly passed away at the scene but James was able to hang on just long enough to tell the police what had happened, James too, sadly passed away at the hospital. It all made no sense, two well respected and well liked actors who were not widely known but getting to an exciting phase in their careers, just attending their usual class which was routine, no bother to anyone and no hidden pasts or troubles with the law, why would two men just kill them? No robbery, no words were said and James didn't recognise the men. It was as if this was a targeted attack, like they knew that Barbara and James would be there at that time? Did someone pay hitmen to kill Barbara and James? Not to sound cheeky but why did the cops not look more into Barbara's husband? Could it be (and I'm just sharing a thought here) that he possibly thought that Barbara and James were seeing each other? Barbara and her husband had been going through a difficult patch at the time. Was he or someone else jealous of how successful Barbara was continuing to become in her career? Or was it just a case of mistaken identity or a random act?
To me this case screams 'targeted' but who would set this up? It still baffles me to this day how cavalier the police used to be about certain murder cases in the past. For example, if they had a similar type of case which proved to have no leads but a wife was mysteriously murdered in what looked like a random, possibly targeted hit but the estranged husband happened to be a pillar of the community, there would be this attitude of that it couldn't have possibly been him. There was this attitude at times of not bothering to chase up any possibilities because a potential suspect or just someone of interest might be a famous person or someone with a lot of money. We have seen so many people get away with so much over the years simply because they have money (as I type this, rapper and record producer Sean 'Diddy' Combs is currently sitting in a jail cell after being denied bail on drug-trafficking charges after getting away with horrendous crimes for years due to his status and wealth).
When news broke out about what happened to Barbara and James, everyone was shocked, scared and confused wondering why and who would do such a thing to two lovely, talented people?
As decades rolled on, the case just grew more and more colder to the point that (it's sad for me to say) it was mostly forgotten about. When we see documentaries about horrible things that have happened to celebrities over the years and a list of shocking stories is talked about, we never see any mention of what happened to Barbara and James.
I hope that more people in the true crime community talk about this case and who knows, maybe one day we will finally get some answers.
Barbara was cremated and her ashes were reportedly scattered a sea but she does have an online memorial where people can leave virtual flowers and little notes: Barbara Colby: Find A Grave
I can't find any information about James's final resting place or if he was cremated but our hearts go out to him and his family too. It's very sad to think of what could have been for both of these talented people who's lives were so coldly taken.
I hope one day that there is justice finally for Barbara and James and that their families finally have answers after all these years. I always say it is important to never give up hope, we've seen decades-old cases finally being solved in recent times let's hope that this case is finally closed soon. RIP Barbara and James.
Further Reading & Sources:
- Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes | Book by Michael Newton
- Barbara Colby Memorial | Find A Grave
- Barbara Colby & James Kiernan | Reddit Discussion
Thank you for taking the time to read this third instalment of my unsolved cases series, I hope you found it informative and I hope you will join me for part four in this series.
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Take care until next time & I hope to see you on my socials x
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