Biography
Barbara Rhoades is a tall, red-headed actress who has had a busy career in film, and on crime-mysteries, comedies, and game shows on television. Her career as a character actor has spanned nearly 40 years. In 1968, her first year in the business, she made a name for herself as Penelope 'Bad Penny' Cushings in the comedy western "The Shakiest Gun in the West," alongside Don Knotts's bumbling Dr. Jesse Heywood. Through the 1970s, Rhoades made brief appearances on countless TV classics, among them the sitcoms "The Odd Couple," "Sanford and Son," and the cop drama "Mannix." By 1977, Rhoades had arguably her most outstanding year, appearing in 15 episodes of the short-lived Adam Arkin-starring comedy, "Busting Loose," and scoring a major supporting role in the Academy Award-nominated romantic comedy "The Goodbye Girl," which starred Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss. In 1980, Rhoades had a recurring part on the clever comedy "Soap" as the romantic interest of Jodie Dallas, played by a young Billy Crystal. Alongside her multiple television acting gigs, Rhoades was a regular guest on the game show "Match Game 73," and later on "Password Plus," from 1979 to 1981. In 2007, Rhoades starred in the horror film "First Born."
