Biography
Although Adrienne Barbeau gained widespread recognition among television audiences through recurring parts on multiple series and appearances in made-for-TV movies plus several theatrical releases, she had already been performing as a vocalist from the outset of her professional life in the early 1960s. The Sacramento, California native, born June 11, 1945, launched her stage work with the San Jose Civic Light Opera. Early in that decade she traveled to South East Asia and sang for U.S. troops at military installations across the region, after which she came back to the United States. Her first Broadway credit arrived in a staging of Fiddler On The Roof, yet the role of Rizzo in the original Broadway production of Grease proved to be the breakthrough that earned her both a Tony Award nomination and inclusion on the show’s cast album. Weekly appearances on the popular series Maude during the early 1970s opened doors to feature-film work. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s she headlined major studio pictures including The Fog (1979), Escape From New York (1981), Creep Show (1982), and Swamp Thing (1982), all but the last of these directed by her then-husband John Carpenter. Additional television, motion-picture, and theatrical assignments kept her occupied through the remainder of the 1980s and the 1990s, among them a recurring part on the hit series The Drew Carey Show. In 1997 the multitalented performer released her first complete album, blending rock, pop, blues, and adult-contemporary styles; the self-titled collection received favorable notices from both reviewers and listeners.
Albums