Known for movies
Short Info
Spouse | Bill Trowbridge |
Fact | Autobiography "Miss Rona". In it, she admits to having a nose job and claims actor Hugh B. O'Brien tried to seduce her. |
Rona Barrett (born October 8, 1936) is an American gossip columnist and television reporter. She was one of the first entertainment reporters to become a household name in the United States.
Barrett was born in New York City to a Jewish family. Her father was a successful businessman and her mother was a homemaker. She has two older sisters. Barrett attended public schools in New York City and graduated from high school in 1954.
Barrett began her career as a journalist working for small newspapers in New York City. In the early 1960s, she began working for the New York Daily News. In 1965, she moved to Los Angeles and began working for the Hollywood Reporter.
In the late 1960s, Barrett began appearing on television. She became a regular panelist on The Hollywood Squares and had her own gossip segment on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 1976, she launched her own syndicated television show, Rona Barrett’s Hollywood, which ran for two seasons.
In the 1980s, Barrett transitioned from television to writing books. She has authored several books on Hollywood celebrities, including her best-selling 1984 book, Miss Rona: The Life and Times of Hollywood’s Greatest Gossip Columnist.
Barrett has been married three times. Her first husband was producer Merv Adelson, with whom she had one child. Her second husband was real estate developer Jerry Perenchio, with whom she had no children. She has been married to retired businessman Martin Davis since 1992.
Barrett has an estimated net worth of $20 million.
General Info
Full Name | Rona Barrett |
Profession | Actor, Journalist, Businessperson, Novelist, Gossip columnist |
Nationality | American |
Family
Spouse | Bill Trowbridge |
Parents | Ida |
Accomplishments
TV Shows | Tomorrow Coast to Coast, Entertainment Tonight |
Social profile links
Quotes
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | Pick your enemies carefully or you'll never make it in Los Angeles. |
2 | I'm really a pussycat -- with an iron tail. |
3 | I'm not friends with the stars, because if I were I couldn't tell the truth about them. |
Facts
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Recently moved to Solvang, CA [July 2006] |
2 | She and her husband, Bill Trowbridge, are the founders and owners of a company that sells skin care and food products using organic lavender, grown on her own ranch. She has also started a foundation to help the elderly. [November 2003] |
3 | Was Robert P. Marcucci's assistant when he managed Frankie Avalon and Fabian. The "Brenda Roberts" character in The Idolmaker (1980) is based on her. |
4 | Her high school prom date was singer Steve Lawrence. |
5 | Has 4 step children. Sons: Robbinn ("Robb") and William Allan Trowbridge Jr. ("Hap") and daughters: Bala and Jojo Trowbridge. |
6 | Her niece by marriage is actress Heather Blair. |
7 | Her husband of over 30 years, Bill Trowbridge, died from kidney failure with his family at his side. |
8 | Was a pre-law major in college when an uncle, a judge, advised her to switch to Communication Arts (journalism). |
9 | Has a very rare form of muscular dystrophy that wasn't diagnosed until she was 9. |
10 | Autobiography "Miss Rona". In it, she admits to having a nose job and claims actor Hugh B. O'Brien tried to seduce her. |
11 | Retired in 1991. Lives in San Ynez, California. |
12 | At the age of 13, she was the nationwide coordinator of the Eddie Fisher Fan Clubs. |
13 | In 1980, she signed-on to co-host, with Tom Snyder, NBC's Tomorrow Coast to Coast (1973) but dropped out the following year after engaging in a very public feud with Snyder. |
Movies
Actress
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Television: Inside and Out | 1981 | TV Series | Regular |
Sextette | 1978 | Rona Barrett | |
Mannix | 1968-1974 | TV Series | Rona Barrett |
Do Not Throw Cushions Into the Ring | 1970 | ||
The Phynx | 1970 | Rona Barrett |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Tab Hunter Confidential | 2015 | Documentary | Herself |
Rock Hudson: Dark and Handsome Stranger | 2010 | Documentary | Herself |
Biography | 2007 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
The Dream Studio | 2004 | Video documentary short | Herself |
The Oprah Winfrey Show | 2003 | TV Series | Herself |
The Definitive Elvis: Elvis and Priscilla | 2002 | Video documentary | Herself |
Good Morning America | 1979-1995 | TV Series | Herself |
Intimate Portrait | 1993 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
WrestleMania VI | 1990 | TV Movie | Herself - Interviewer |
WWF Superstars | 1990 | TV Series | Herself |
The Pat Sajak Show | 1989 | TV Series | Herself |
Moonlighting | 1987 | TV Series | Herself |
Late Night with David Letterman | 1984 | TV Series | Herself |
The Regis Philbin Show | 1981 | TV Series | Herself |
Entertainment Tonight | 1981 | TV Series | Herself - Gossip Contributor (1985-1986) |
Today | 1981 | TV Series | Herself |
Tomorrow Coast to Coast | 1981 | TV Series | Herself - Substitute Host |
The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards | 1981 | TV Special | Herself |
An Almost Perfect Affair | 1979 | Herself (uncredited) | |
Grease Day USA | 1978 | TV Movie documentary | Premiere Guest |
The Mike Douglas Show | 1970-1977 | TV Series | Herself - Columnist / Herself - Co-Host / Herself |
TVTV Looks at the Academy Awards | 1976 | TV Special documentary | Herself |
A Special Olivia Newton-John | 1976 | TV Special | |
The Sonny and Cher Show | 1976 | TV Series | Herself / Various Characters |
Dinah! | 1975-1976 | TV Series | Herself |
Joys | 1976 | TV Special | Herself |
Match Game 73 | 1975 | TV Series | Herself - Panelist |
Match Game PM | 1975 | TV Series | Herself - Panelist |
Rona Looks at Raquel, Liza, Cher and Ann-Margret | 1975 | TV Movie | Herself - Host |
Don Adams' Screen Test | 1975 | TV Series | Herself - Judge |
Donahue | 1975 | TV Series | Herself |
The Smothers Brothers Show | 1975 | TV Series | Herself |
Tattletales | 1974 | TV Series | Herself |
ABC Late Night | 1973 | TV Series | Herself |
Alan King Looks Back in Anger: A Review of 1972 | 1973 | TV Movie | Herself |
The Merv Griffin Show | 1972 | TV Series | Herself |
The Virginia Graham Show | 1970 | TV Series | Herself |
The David Frost Show | 1970 | TV Series | Herself |
The Barbara McNair Show | 1969 | TV Series | Herself |
The Hollywood Squares | 1969 | TV Series | Guest Appearance |
Allen Ludden's Gallery | 1969 | TV Series | Herself |
The Joey Bishop Show | 1967-1969 | TV Series | Herself |
Head | 1968 | Herself (uncredited) | |
Dateline: Hollywood | 1967 | TV Series | Herself |
Gypsy | 1967 | TV Series | Herself |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
The Making of Trump | 2015 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic | 2013 | Documentary | Herself |
American Masters | 2012 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
Headliners & Legends: Brooke Shields | 2001 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
The Sinister Saga of Making 'The Stunt Man' | 2000 | Video documentary | Herself |
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse | 1991 | Documentary | Herself |
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues | 1988 | Video documentary | Herself |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia