Though character actress Priscilla Pointer may be better known as the
mother of
Amy Irving, she has enjoyed a major stage, film and TV career
herself for over four decades. The New York-born performer was trained
on the stage and appeared in several tours and Broadway shows,
including "A Streetcar Named Desire", "The Country Wife" and "The
Condemned of Altona". Many of these were under the direction of husband
Jules Irving, a former actor, whom she married in 1947. Together, they
co-founded the San Francisco Actor's Workshop along with Herbert Blau
and
Beatrice Manley. Forsaking her career for a time to raise her children,
Pointer returned full time and, at the age of 40+, decided to set her
sights on film and TV. She seemed to be everywhere in the 1970s and
1980s as somebody's mom, both brittle and resilient. She also proved to
be dependable as a stern, no-nonsense teacher, doctor or judge. She
played the mother of daughter
Amy Irving in the cult shocker
Carrie (1976),
Diane Keaton in
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977),
Sean Penn in
The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) and
Kyle MacLachlan in
Blue Velvet (1986). On the
nighttime soap hit
Dallas (1978), she played mom to
Victoria Principal's character. In
1979, her husband Jules passed away and, two years later, she married
actor
Robert Symonds. They have appeared together quite frequently on stage,
including the plays "Voices" and "The Road to Mecca".
Blue Velvet Lost Footage(2014)as Mrs. Beaumont
Sweet Nothing in My Ear(2008)as Sally
Union Station(2007)
Cold Case(2003)as Lillian Vine - 2006
Judging Amy(1999)as Margaret Palmer
Carrie(1976)
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy(2010)as Self, Dr. Elizabeth Simms
Acting 'Carrie'(2001)as Self
Intimate Portrait(1990)as Self
Cinema mil(2005)as Mrs. Beaumont
The Rage: Carrie 2(1999)as Mrs. Snell
