Claudia Bryar
Encyclopedia
Claudia Bryar was an American actress who mostly specialized in television. Active from the 1950s to the 1980s, she is perhaps best known for her role as Mrs. Emma Spool in Psycho II.
She played small parts in mostly Western television series
such as Gunsmoke
, Bonanza
, and The Guns of Will Sonnett
, but also The Bob Newhart Show
, The Andy Griffith Show
, and The Twilight Zone
.
She appeared in small roles in the big screen in cult movies, such as I Was A Teenage Frankenstein
and Bad Company
. She appeared in made-for-television movies such as Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn
(1977) and The Family Nobody Wanted
(1975).
She can be seen in archive footage for a black and white flashback in Psycho III
, where more attention is given to her character of Mrs. Spool
(although she is dead). Her career ended with her role of Mrs. Prince in Hill Street Blues
.
She played small parts in mostly Western television series
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
such as Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, and The Guns of Will Sonnett
The Guns of Will Sonnett
The Guns of Will Sonnett is a Western television series set in the 1870s which ran on the ABC television network from 1967 to 1969. The series was the first production collaboration between Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas, who would later go on to produce one of ABC's most-memorable hits, The Mod...
, but also The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, and The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
.
She appeared in small roles in the big screen in cult movies, such as I Was A Teenage Frankenstein
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein is a film starring Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and Gary Conway released by American International Pictures in November 1957. It is the follow-up to AIP's box-office hit I Was a Teenage Werewolf released less than five months earlier...
and Bad Company
Bad Company (1972 film)
Bad Company is a 1972 American Western film directed by Robert Benton, who also co-wrote the film with David Newman. It stars Barry Brown and Jeff Bridges as two of a group of young men that flee the draft during the American Civil War to seek their fortune and freedom on the unforgiving American...
. She appeared in made-for-television movies such as Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn
Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn
Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn was a NBC made-for-television movie, that was first telecast on May 16, 1977, and was directed by John Erman. It was a sequel to Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, which came out the prior year,...
(1977) and The Family Nobody Wanted
The Family Nobody Wanted
The Family Nobody Wanted is a 1954 memoir by Helen Doss .It retells the story of how Doss and her husband Carl, a Methodist minister, adopted twelve children of various ethnic backgrounds...
(1975).
She can be seen in archive footage for a black and white flashback in Psycho III
Psycho III
Psycho III is a 1986 sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The film stars Anthony Perkins , Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey and Roberta Maxwell. The screenplay is written by Charles Edward Pogue...
, where more attention is given to her character of Mrs. Spool
Emma Spool
Mrs. Emma Spool is a fictional character in the Psycho film series, created by Tom Holland for the screenplay of the 1982 sequel to the 1960 film Psycho, Psycho II. More attention is given to her character in Psycho III, although she's a corpse...
(although she is dead). Her career ended with her role of Mrs. Prince in Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
.
Filmography
- Giant (1956) as Older Beauty Operator
- I Was A Teenage FrankensteinI Was a Teenage FrankensteinI Was a Teenage Frankenstein is a film starring Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and Gary Conway released by American International Pictures in November 1957. It is the follow-up to AIP's box-office hit I Was a Teenage Werewolf released less than five months earlier...
(1957) as Arlene's Mother - The True Story of Lynn StuartThe True Story of Lynn StuartThe True Story of Lynn Stuart is a 1958 Columbia Pictures feature film starring Betsy Palmer and Jack Lord. Marking the final directorial effort of Lewis Seiler, it dramatizes the true story of a young Santa Ana, California, housewife who became a volunteer undercover narcotics agent in the 1950's...
(1958) as Nora Efron - A Big Hand for the Little LadyA Big Hand for the Little LadyA Big Hand for the Little Lady is a 1966 western film, made by Eden Productions Inc. and released by Warner Bros...
(1966) as Mrs. Price - Ride to Hangman's Tree (1967) as Mrs. Harmon
- The Shakiest Gun in the WestThe Shakiest Gun in the WestThe Shakiest Gun in the West is a 1968 Western comedy film starring Don Knotts. It was directed by Alan Rafkin and written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum.The film is a remake of The Paleface, a 1948 movie starring Bob Hope and Jane Russell....
(1968) as Mrs. Remington - Gaily, GailyGaily, GailyGaily, Gaily is a 1969 comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It is based on the Autobiographical novel by Ben Hecht and stars Beau Bridges, Melina Mercouri, Brian Keith, and George Kennedy....
(1969) as Mother - Angel in My PocketAngel in my PocketAngel in my Pocket is a 1969 film starring Andy Griffith and directed by Alan Rafkin. The movie was one of three originally planned by Universal Pictures to star Griffith, and also featured Lee Meriwether, Jerry Van Dyke, Kay Medford, Henry Jones, Edgar Buchanan, and Gary Collins. This film has...
(1969) as Mrs. Axel Gresham - Bad CompanyBad Company (1972 film)Bad Company is a 1972 American Western film directed by Robert Benton, who also co-wrote the film with David Newman. It stars Barry Brown and Jeff Bridges as two of a group of young men that flee the draft during the American Civil War to seek their fortune and freedom on the unforgiving American...
(1972) as Mrs. Clum - Ace Eli and Rodger of the SkiesAce Eli and Rodger of the SkiesAce Eli and Rodger of the Skies is a 1973 adventure-comedy film, with a story by Steven Spielberg. The film centers on a stunt pilot and his son as they fly around the United States in the 1920s, and their adventures along the way.-Background:Steven Spielberg had developed the story of a flyer...
(1973) as Ann - Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) as Mrs. Horrell
- Psycho II (1983) as Mrs. Emma SpoolEmma SpoolMrs. Emma Spool is a fictional character in the Psycho film series, created by Tom Holland for the screenplay of the 1982 sequel to the 1960 film Psycho, Psycho II. More attention is given to her character in Psycho III, although she's a corpse...
- Psycho IIIPsycho IIIPsycho III is a 1986 sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The film stars Anthony Perkins , Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey and Roberta Maxwell. The screenplay is written by Charles Edward Pogue...
(1986) as Mrs. Emma Spool (flashback)