| Babz Chula | |
| Birth Name: | Barbara Ellen Zuckerman[1] |
| Birth Date: | March 22, 1947 |
| Birth Place: | Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.[2] |
| Death Date: | May 7, 2010 (aged 63) |
| Death Place: | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation: | Actress, musician |
| Years Active: | 1984–2010 |
Babz Chula (born as Barbara Ellen Zuckerman; March 22, 1947 – May 7, 2010) was an American-born Canadian actress and musician.
Barbara Ellen Zuckerman was born in Springfield, Massachusetts but spent her early childhood in the working-class neighbourhood of Jamaica, Queens County, New York City. Her widowed mother, Abby Zuckerman, a booking agent for Leonard Bernstein, moved her with two young children, first to Hawaii and then to California, to pursue work in the entertainment field after Chula's father, Larry Zuckerman, an auto mechanic and stock-car racer, was killed in a car race.[3]
Growing up in Los Angeles, where her mother eventually remarried, young Barbara won a scholarship to the California Institute of the Arts and returned to New York after graduation to perform as a folk singer. In 1971, she and her first husband, Phillip Ciulla, relocated to Slocan Valley in British Columbia[4] before moving to Vancouver, where she resumed her acting and singing career as Babz Chula, under the respelled phonetic pronunciation of Ciulla.[5] Her first major supporting role was in Sandy Wilson's award-winning film My American Cousin.
Chula was married to Larry Lynn. After her death on May 7, 2010, at the age of 63, Lynn was ordained a Catholic priest.[6]
The 2013 National Film Board of Canada documentary Chi (2013 film) [7] follows Chula to Kerala, India in 2010, where she travels in an effort to treat her 6-year battle with cancer. Directed by Anne Wheeler, the documentary follows Chula's battle with cancer until the end, detailing Chula and her family members' struggle to come to terms with her death, while celebrating her life and accomplishments.[8] [9]
| Year | Title | Role | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Runaway | Construction Foreperson (as Babs Chulla) | Michael Crichton | |
| 1985 | My American Cousin | Dolly Walker | Sandy Wilson | |
| 1988 | data-sort-value="Accused, The" | The Accused | Woman Lawyer | Jonathan Kaplan |
| 1989 | In Search of the Last Good Man | Unknown | Peg Campbell | |
| American Boyfriends | Dolly, Butch's Mother | Sandy Wilson | ||
| Immediate Family | Birthday Girl's Mom | Jonathan Kaplan | ||
| Cousins | Mrs. Davidow | Joel Schumacher | ||
| 1991 | Run | Poker Player (as Babs Chula) | Geoff Burrowes | |
| 1992 | data-sort-value="Date, The" | The Date | Unknown | Niko Theoderaskis |
| North of Pittsburgh | Linda | Richard Martin | ||
| 1994 | Valentine's Day | Barb | Mike Hoolboom | |
| Kanada | Charlie | Mike Hoolboom | ||
| 1995 | Live Bait | Helen MacIntosh | Bruce Sweeney | |
| data-sort-value="Love Charm, The" | The Love Charm | Unknown | Robert Rondau | |
| Power of Attorney | Angela | Howard Himelstein | ||
| data-sort-value="Pyromaniac's Love Story, A" | A Pyromaniac's Love Story | Ass pincher's wife | Josh Brand | |
| 1997 | Silent Cradle | Cye Block | Paul Ziller | |
| Barbeque...A Love Story | Unknown | Stacey Kirk | ||
| data-sort-value="Ex, The" | The Ex | Dr. Lillian Jonas | Mark Leste | |
| 1998 | Dirty | Angie | Bruce Sweeney | |
| 1999 | Double Jeopardy | Ruby | Bruce Beresford | |
| 2000 | No More Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed | Rick's Mother | Ross Weber | |
| 2001 | Last Wedding | Bobbie | Bruce Sweeney | |
| 2002 | Cheats | Mrs. Rosengarden | Andrew Gurland | |
| Bitten | Mother | Clauida Morgado | ||
| 2003 | Little Brother of War | Police Lieutenant | Damon Vignale | |
| Moving Malcolm | Gisha | Benjamin Ratner | ||
| 2004 | Kathleen's Closet | Kathleen | Sheila Jordon | |
| Gang of Love | Unknown | Rick Dobran | ||
| Seven Times Lucky | Unknown | Gary Yates | ||
| Croon | Unknown | Hillary Jones-Farrow | ||
| 2006 | Home by Christmas | Rita | Gail Harvey | |
| data-sort-value="French Guy, The" | The French Guy | Elizabeth Murray | Ann Marie Fleming | |
| data-sort-value="Saddest Boy in the World, The" | The Saddest Boy in the World | Dr. Judith D'Angelo | Jamie Travis | |
| data-sort-value="Secret, The" | The Secret | Psychiatrist | Vincent Perez | |
| Criminal Intent | Ruth | George Erchbamer | ||
| 2007 | American Venus | Peggy | Bruce Sweeney | |
| 2008 | data-sort-value="X-Files: I Want to Believe, The" | Surgeon | Chris Carter | |
| 2009 | Mothers & Daughters | Micki | Carl Bessai | |
| 2013 | Kids in Jail [10] | Herself (posthumous) | Larry Lynn | |
| 2013 | Chi [11] | Herself (posthumous) | Anne Wheeler |