Barbara Russell

Barbara Russell was an American actress, singer, and theater performer who worked on Pittsburgh stages for six decades. Born in Black Lick, Pennsylvania, she began her career at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and went on to perform at venues including City Theatre and Pittsburgh CLO, maintaining a long association with the Mountain Playhouse from 1960 to 2016. She formed the comedy duo Brockett and Barbara with Don Brockett in 1960, and they performed musical comedy revues and satirical sketches for over 30 years, releasing the album Out of Folkus in 1963. On television, she appeared in 14 episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, playing characters such as Mrs. Russellite. Her film roles included a zombie in Day of the Dead (1985), Nicholas' mother in Narrow Margin (1990), and Rosa Lombardi in That's Amore (2020), her final film. She received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2000.