Barbara Billingsley, 1915-2010. R.I.P.

Actress Barbara Billingsley has passed away of rheumatoid disease. She was 94.

Billingsley, of course, was best known for her portrayal of June Cleaver in the 1950s TV series Leave It To Beaver.

Her success on Beaver was a double edged sword. Although she was part of TV history getting roles post-Beaver proved difficult as casting agents had trouble seeing Billingsley as anyone other than June Cleaver.

But then in 1980 she was introduced to a new generation of fans with her hillarious cameo in Airplane! In an interview, Billingsley said it was the two actors in the scene that wrote out the "jive" for her. She added, "It was remarkable. It started my whole career again."