Priscilla Pointer

Feature film work began for the actress around this time, and with her light, clear eyes, quiet but firm alto voice and highly distinctive, deeply lined face and neck, Pointer graced a series of intense dramas and thrillers. She made her debut in the teen horror film "Carrie" (1976, as the mother of Amy Irving's character) and enjoyed a larger part as Diane Keaton and Tuesday Weld's worried mother in "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" (1977). Rarely appearing in comedy, Pointer later acted in "The Onion Field" (1979), "Mommie Dearest" (1981), "The Falcon and the Snowman" (1985, as Sean Penn's mother), "Blue Velvet" (1986, as parent to Kyle MacLachlan) and the atypically whimsical "Un-Becoming Age" (1992). She has continued to work with Amy Irving in film ("The Competition" 1980, "A Show of Force" 1990) and TV ("The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics" 1994). She received her greatest visibility via several seasons (1981-83) on the immensely popular primetime TV soap "Dallas," as Rebecca Wentworth, mother of Pam (Victoria Principal) and Cliff (Ken Kercheval). The actress has worked on the TV-movies "Generation" (1985), "Hemingway" (1988) and "Traveler's Rest" (1993), and made guest appearances on series like "The Flash" and "ER."In 1981, Pointer married actor Robert Symonds, a supporting player active on TV as authority figures and historical personages including Harry S Truman, Benjamin Franklin and Robert E. Lee. She is also the mother of film director David Irving.