‘Carrie’ actor and Amy Irving’s mother Priscilla Pointer dead at 100
Actor Priscilla Pointer, who famously played the on-screen mother of her real-life daughter Amy Irving in Carrie, has passed away at the age of 100. She was 19 days short of her 101st birthday.
Pointer also appeared with her daughter in six other movies. She tended to stick to the maternal role, as he played famous mothers throughout the 1970s and 1980s. For example, she played Diane Keaton’s mother in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Kyle MacLachlan’s mother in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, and Sean Penn’s mother in The Falcon and the Snowman.
Her daughter was married to Steven Spielberg between 1985 and 1989, making her Spielberg’s mother-in-law for some time.
She remained close to her family in other ways. Pointer also starred in three films directed by her son, David Irving. She performed in Good-bye, Cruel World, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D., and the 1987 musical adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin
Pointer was familiar with the world of musicals, having hailed from Broadway. Impressively, she starred in the original tours of A Streetcar Named Desire, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and The East Wind, among others. She was often directed by her husband, Jules Irving, after meeting him in Europe after an army production of Brother Rat. Jules passed away from a heart attack in 1979.
They had a unique approach to raising their three children, which ensured Pointer could continue her impressive career: “Instead of using babysitters, Mama would put us in the front row where she could watch us from the stage,” Amy told the Los Angeles Times in 1994.
Amy Irving announced her death on Instagram, noting that Pointer “died peacefully in her sleep” on April 28th, “hopefully to run off with her 2 adoring husbands and her many dogs. She most definitely will be missed.” She was staying in an assisted living facility in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.