Barbara Bel Geddes dies at 82

Aug 11, 2005 by Ian Evans

Barbara Bel Geddes, Miss Ellie Ewing on TV and Maggie the Cat on Broadway, has died of cancer. Bel Geddes, who passed away August 8th, was 82.

She received Tony nominations for both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Mary, Mary and also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for I Remember Mama. She also won a Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy Award in 1980 for her role on Dallas.

Dallas’ J.R., Larry Hagman, told AP that “She was the rock of Dallas. She was just a really nice woman and a wonderful actress. She was kind of the glue that held the whole thing together.”

When Bel Geddes suffered a heart attack in 1984, her role on the hit show was played by Donna Reed. When she was better, producers asked her to return.