Barbara Moffett & Her Sad Suicide

 

Barbara Moffett was a beautiful 1940s starlet and the sister of Lili St Cyr

She was born Idella Ruth Blackadder on April 11, 1924 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her Scottish father was an expert equestrian who taught her to ride horses. When she was a teenager she started competing in rodeos across the country. Barbara was named "The Most Beautiful Cowgirl In California." Meanwhile her older half-sister, Lili St Cyr, had become a popular burlesque star. The shapely blonde danced with Lili at the Florentine Gardens in Los Angeles. She made her film debut in the 1941 drama Ziegfeld Girl. Barbara was signed by RKO in 1942 and appeared in The Mexican Spitfire Sees A Ghost. Then she starred in the low budget western Red River Robin Hood. She had romances with Franchot Tone, Forest Tucker, and Erroll Flynn. In 1943 she had a small part in The Land Is Mine with Maureen O'Hara. Unfortunately this would be her final film. Barbara spent the next four years performing in nightclubs. During World War 2 she toured with the USO.

On March 29, 1947 she married Louis Marx, a millionaire toy manufacturer. He was twenty-eight years older than her and had been married twice before. The couple had five sons together - Emmett, Spencer, Curtis, Bradley, and Hunter. Although she loved being a mother her marriage was tumultuous. Barbara began suffering from depression and had several extramarital affairs. When her husband discovered she was cheating he kicked her out of the house. They were divorced in 1966. Soon after she was diagnosed with manic depression and was given electro shock treatment. As she got older she became estranged from her sister Lili whom she had once called her best friend. Tragically on March 25, 1986 Barbara committed suicide by shooting herself in the head. She was sixty-one years old. Barbara was cremated and her ashes were scattered.