PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) – Barbara Whiting Smith, an actress who performed in films in the 1940s and 1950s including “Carnival in Costa Rica,” “Beware, My Lovely” and “Dangerous When Wet,” has died. She was 73.

Smith, of Bloomfield Village, died of cancer Wednesday. She was the sister of singer Margaret Whiting and the daughter of composer Richard Whiting, who wrote hundreds of songs, including “Hooray for Hollywood.”

Born in Los Angeles, she got her break in movies when she was 13. She played the role of Fuffy Adams opposite Peggy Ann Garner in the 1945 film “Junior Miss.” Following the performance, 20th Century Fox signed her to a contract.

She also performed in a “Junior Miss” radio series, and starred with her sister in “Those Whiting Girls,” a TV show that ran for two years.

Then she married Gail Smith, and in 1959 they moved to Michigan. She retired from acting and became a longtime volunteer at and patron of St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospital in Pontiac, where she died, more than a decade after her husband.

Besides her sister, survivors include a son, Richard Whiting Smith.

AP-ES-06-12-04 1006EDT