Barbara Mullen

Barbara Mullen

Barbara Mullen (9 June 1914 – 9 March 1979) was an American actress well known in the UK for playing the part of Janet McPherson, the housekeeper in Dr. Finlay's Casebook. Although the role of Janet brought her fame in later years, she already had made her mark in the theatre. Mullen's parents, Pat and Bridget, were from a fishing family on Inishmore island off the coast of County Galway, Ireland. The family had emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, where Mullen was born. She made her stage debut as a dancer at the age of three. When her father returned to Aran, later contributing to the making of Man of Aran, the classic documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty, her mother stayed in the U. S. to bring up the 10 children. Mullen sang and danced in various theatres all over the U. S. and then moved to the UK in 1934, where she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. She wrote Life is my Adventure, her autobiography, at 23. A year later she made her London debut, acting the title role in the London West End production of Jeannie, a comedy about a Scottish girl taking a European holiday after coming into money. She became an overnight star.

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