Babz Chula


Babz Chula was an American-born Canadian actress and musician.
WWW Official Site

Early life, education and career

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.
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 before moving to Vancouver, where she resumed her acting and singing career as Babz Chula, under the respelled phonetic pronunciation of Ciulla. Her first major supporting role was in Sandy Wilson's award-winning film My American Cousin.

Personal life and death

Chula was married to Larry Lynn. After her death on May 7, 2010, at the age of 63, Lynn was ordained a Catholic priest.
The 2013 National Film Board of Canada documentary Chi 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.

Selected minor films

Selected television appearances

  • 1991: The Commish – 6 episodes
  • 1993–1996: Madison – 8 episodes
  • 1998: Police Academy – 1 episode
  • 2000–2003: Cold Squad – 1 episode
  • 1999–2001 These Arms of Mine – 5 episodes
  • 2002: Bliss – 1 episode
  • 2002: John Doe – 1 episode
  • 2004: The L Word – 1 episode
  • 2004: The Days – 3 episodes
  • 2007: Final 24 – 1 episode

Voice work

Captain N: The Game MasterMadelineCaptain Zed and the Zee ZoneLegend of the Hawaiian SlammersG.I. JoeBucky O'Hare and the Toad WarsYvon of the YukonCamp CandyToon of the MonthLittle WitchAction ManChristopher the Christmas TreeLittlest Pet ShopFunky Fables

Recognition