‘Superman’ and ‘Perry Mason’ Actress Barbra Fuller Dead at 102

Barbra Fuller, who appeared on TV shows including Adventures of Superman and Perry Mason, has died. Fuller passed away on Wednesday, May 15 at the age of 102, her godson J.P. Sloane announced in a Facebook tribute.

“Today my godmother, Barbra Fuller, passed away,” Sloane wrote. “She was on the radio’s first Soap Opera, ‘One Man’s Family’ playing the role of Claudia for 14 years. She also starred in movies and television ‘Aunt’ Barbra had a full life and would have turned 103 on July 29 this year. I was truly blessed to have had her for so long,” Sloane added, “She will always be loved and truly missed.”

Born Barbara Deane Fuller in Nahant, Massachusetts in July 1921, per The Hollywood Reporter, Fuller moved with her mother St. Petersburg, Florida and then Chicago after her father’s death when she was 3. After her mother began working at a radio station in Chicago, Fuller landed a part opposite George Gobel on a kids program. Her big break came three years later when, after relocating to California and with a recommendation from future Oscar-winning actress Mercedes McCambridge, she landed a role in a NBC radio drama One Man’s Family. She played the role of Claudia for 14 years from 1945 to 1959, during that time also signing a contract with Republic Pictures. She starred in 13 films for Republic, including six opposite Robert Rockwell.

Fuller also grew her resume on the small screen. She starred in two different roles – a maid and Joan Leonard, per her IMDb profile – on two episodes of the drama series Perry Mason in 1960 and 1964. She also appeared on the first-season Adventures of Superman. In the episode “Crime Wave,” which premiered in February 1953, Fuller played a woman working for “Public Enemy No. 1,” the criminal waging war against the citizens of Metropolis. Her character was tasked with uncovering the Man of Steel’s friends at the Daily Planet and filmed Clark Kent running into an alleyway and then Superman running out.

Fuller’s other credits include The Red Menace, Flame of Youth, Alias the Champ, The Savage Horde, Ford Television Theater, State Trooper, The Millionaire, My Three Sons, U.S. Marshal, Lassie and Daniel Boone. She also appeared on the CBS anthology series Four Star Playhouse opposite Charles Boyer from 1955 to 1956.

She married Lash LaRue, a Western film star, in February 1951. The couple separated months later and divorced in June 1952.