- Born
- Died
- Birth nameNancy Jane Kulp
- Nicknames
- Slim
- The Bird Lady
- Height5′ 5½″ (1.66 m)
- Nancy Kulp wore many hats: Publicity person, actress, linguist, would-be politician, and teacher. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Kulp attended college in Florida, then headed for Hollywood to work in publicity for the movies, not star in them. Soon after arriving in Hollywood, Kulp was convinced by director George Cukor and casting director Billy Gordon that she should be in front of the camera, not behind the scenes. She then began a solid career as a character actress in films and television, including two memorable roles: on The Bob Cummings Show (1955) as bird-loving "Pamela Livingstone", and on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) as the long-suffering, lovesick, and bird-loving "Miss Jane Hathaway". After the Hillbillies ended its 9-year run, Kulp found work in theater, Broadway, and television, and dabbled in politics, making an unsuccessful 1984 run for Congress in Pennsylvania. Later, she taught acting and retired to a farm in Connecticut and, later, Palm Springs, where she died of cancer in 1991.- IMDb mini biography by: Ken Severson
- SpouseCharles Malcolm Dacus(April 1, 1951 - 1959) (divorced)
- ParentsRobert I. KulpMarjorie S. Kulp
- Posh tone of voice
- Was Arsenio Hall's very first guest on his talk show. She sat in with the house band.
- In 1984, she ran as a Democrat for Pennsylvania's Ninth Congressional District, but lost to Republican incumbent "Bud Shuster". She blamed her The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) co-star Buddy Ebsen for her defeat, because Ebsen taped a radio ad in support of Shuster, and deemed her "too liberal". She did not speak to Ebsen for several years afterward, but eventually made peace with him.
- Early in her acting career, one Hollywood gossip sheet named her "the homeliest girl on television", referring to her role as "Pamela Livingstone" on Robert Cummings's series. In actual fact, she was quite popular on the show-biz dating scene and never lacked for amorous companionship. Although admitting later in life to "swinging both ways", this did not seem to dampen the ardor of her admirers.
- Had a Masters Degree in English & French from the University of Miami (Fla.)
- Writers played a twist on naming Nancy's best-known character, Miss Jane Hathaway. They reversed Nancy's first and middle names, so Nancy Jane Kulp became Jane Nancy Hathaway. We learned Miss Jane's middle name in The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies (1981).
- I was a brain symbol, not a sex symbol.
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