1960s-70s TV Actress Dies of Congestive Heart Failure: Barbara Baldavin Was 85

1960s and 1970s actress Barbara Baldavin has passed away at 85. Her son, Marc D’Agosta, told The Hollywood Reporter she died on Sunday of congestive heart failure at her Manhattan Beach home. Baldavin was most known for recurring on the drama Medical Center from 1969 to 1976. She later worked in the casting department for the original and Trapper John, M.D., among others, through the year 2000 before retiring from Hollywood. Meanwhile, her last acting credit was in the early ’90s as she put most of her focus on casting.

Born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on Oct. 18, 1938, Baldavin attended El Camino College in Torrance, California, where she started acting and studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York. She made her debut acting role in an episode of the Clint Eastwood-led CBS Western drama Rawhide in 1964. She went on to appear in shows such as The Fugitive, The Felony Squad, Insight, Star Trek, and Adam-12 throughout the ’60s.

Aside from Medical Center, Baldavin was in Mannix, Columbo, Wild Rovers, The F.B.I., Airport 1975, Charlie’s Angels, Quincy M.E., and more throughout the ’70s. After appearing in two episodes of Vega$, she switched professions and went into casting. She most notably served as a casting associate and later casting director on Matt Houston from 1982 to 1983 and Dynasty and Trapper John, M.D. from 1981 to 1984. Her former husband, Joseph D’Agosta, was a casting director on the original Star Trek series where they first met, meaning she definitely had some influence in her decision.

Barbara Baldavin’s last acting credit and only one after Vega$ was in the 1993 horror thriller Skeeter alongside Tracy Griffith, Jim Youngs, Charles Napier, and Jay Robinson. After having casting director credits on 13 projects including Don’t Go to Sleep, Hagen, Square Pegs, Shooting Stars, and Curacao, her last credit in Hollywood was the 2000 thriller Fallen Arches.

Along with acting and casting, Baldavin also worked as an instructor at Dawn Wells’ Film Actor’s Boot Camp. She is survived by her sons, Joseph and Marc, and her grandchildren, Cassandra and Justine. As of now, it’s unknown what brought on her congestive heart failure and if she had any other medical problems, but Hollywood is mourning the loss of yet another entertainer who had an impact both on camera and off.