Priscilla Pointer, Actress and Mother of Amy Irving, Dies at 100

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Character actress Priscilla Pointer, best known for playing Amy Irving’s mother in the chilling horror film “Carrie” by Brian De Palma, subsequently starred alongside her real-life daughter in six more films. Sadly, she passed away at the age of 100.

I’m sad to share that my beloved game designer, Pointer, passed away on Monday at a care facility in Ridgefield, Connecticut. My father, David Irving, the writer and director, confirmed this heartbreaking news to The Hollywood Reporter.

She played the role of Diane Keaton’s mom in “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” (1977), Sean Penn’s mother in “The Falcon and the Snowman” (1985) and Kyle MacLachlan’s mother in “Blue Velvet” (1986). On television, she was known as Rebecca Barnes Wentworth, the mother of Victoria Principal’s character on CBS’ “Dallas” during the early 1980s.

Pointer made appearances alongside Irving in the films ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ (1980), ‘The Competition’ (1980), Blake Edwards’ ‘Micki + Maude’ (1984), ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ (1987) – a film she herself directed, ‘A Show of Force’ (1990), and ‘Carried Away’ (1996).

During the 1960s and ’70s, Pointer was part of Broadway productions with the Lincoln Center Repertory Theater company, led by her first husband, the late Jules Irving, and Herbert Blau. Blau, along with his wife, actress Beatrice Manley, had founded the San Francisco Actor’s Workshop in a loft on Divisidero Street back in 1952.

Instead of hiring babysitters, Mama would place us in the front row so she could keep an eye on us from the stage, as Irving reminisced in a 1994 interview with the Los Angeles Times. My father was a remarkable artistic director, and the principles of the Actor’s Workshop were unique. The focus was primarily on the work itself, rather than money or fame. It was quite disappointing when I ventured out into the real world and realized how different things were.

Following Jules Irving’s death from a heart attack in 1979 at the age of 54, Pointer tied the knot with Robert Symonds, an actor and Irving’s producing partner, two years later. Pointer and Symonds had started collaborating at the Actor’s Workshop in their twenties and frequently shared the screen in stage productions and films like “Micki + Maude” and “Inferno” (1999).

In 1983, during the sixth season of Dallas, my on-screen journey as Pointer came to an abrupt end. My character met a tragic fate when the Wentworth jet she was traveling in collided with another plane in mid-air, sadly leading to her demise.

As an ardent enthusiast, I was privileged to be part of the Actor’s Workshop. My roles there ranged from handling phone calls to gracing the stage in plays like Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and Harold Pinter’s “The Birthday Party”. Then, in 1965, I stepped onto Broadway for the first time in a revival of “Danton’s Death”.

Her filmography encompassed titles like “Nickelodeon” from 1976, “The Onion Field” in 1979, “Mommie Dearest” in 1981, her son’s movie “Good-bye Cruel World” in 1983, “From the Hip” in 1987, and “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” also from 1987.

She made appearances on various TV series including The High Chaparral, The Name of the Game, The Rockford Files, Police Woman, Barnaby Jones, Family, and regularly portrayed a judge in L.A. Law.

In 1983, Irving, who was married to Steven Spielberg at the time, received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her role in Barbra Streisand’s movie “Yentl.” Her initial appearance on the big screen happened in the film “Carrie,” which was released in 1976. This marked the start of her acting career.

Besides Pointer’s surviving child, Katie Irving, a talented singer who added two tunes to the movie “Carrie”, her family members also include Amy’s spouse, documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser, as well as eight grandchildren.

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2025-04-29 20:54