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1-11 of 11
- Actress
- Soundtrack
All this shapely character "broad" had to do was open her mouth to induce laughter--and so she did, primarily on TV during the '50s and '60s. And although she milked that unmistakable rasp for all its worth, she also showed great comedy sense. Born Jean Leete on February 23, 1923, in Charleston, West Virginia, actress Jean Carson (not to be confused with pert British actress Jeannie Carson of Hey, Jeannie! (1956) TV fame) was trained in music and dance and started performing by age 12. With high aspirations of becoming an actress, she subsequently studied at Carnegie-Mellon University.
She was first discovered appearing on Broadway in 1948 in George S. Kaufman's "Bravo!" with a cast including Kevin McCarthy and Oscar Homolka. Set in New York, the show was a bust (running only 44 performances), but Jean made a wonderful comic impression and earned a Theatre World award in the process. She followed this with another Kaufman-staged play, "Metropole," in 1949 as well as "The Bird Cage" (1950) with Melvyn Douglas and Maureen Stapleton and "Men of Distinction" (1953) with Robert Preston, but these shows fared just as badly. A hit Broadway comedy finally came her way with "Anniversary Waltz" in 1954, which ran 544 performances. Jean stood out among the cast just for those inimitable deep tones alone.
She was typically on display throughout the '50s and '60s, gracing many of the popular shows of the day, including "The Red Buttons Show," "The Tom Ewell Show," "Wagon Train," "Sugarfoot," "Perry Mason," "The Untouchables" and "Gomer Pyle." Surprisingly, she never had her own TV sitcom, although she did appear as a regular on the short-lived The Betty Hutton Show (1959) playing a girlfriend to the star. A single standout episode of "The Twilight Zone" had Jean and Fred Clark as a pair of thieves who discover that a camera they've stolen takes pictures of the future. Jean essayed a number of bleached blonde floozies, jailbirds, party girls and gold diggers over the course of her career but was never better than as both convict Jalene Naomi and good time girl Daphne on The Andy Griffith Show (1960). In one classic episode, her character Jalene was partnered up with cohorts Jane Dulo and Reta Shaw as three dames hiding out from the law who hold both Deputy Barney and Floyd hostage while putting designs on them at the same time.
An unfortunate alcohol problem dogged Jean's career for many years. Active with Alcoholics Anonymous, she eventually retired from Hollywood in the early 1980s and moved to the Palm Springs area to be closer to family. There she appeared occasionally in such local theater productions as "The Elephant Man" and "Steel Magnolias." Jean had been in spiraling health since suffering a paralytic stroke in September of 2005. She died in a Palm Desert convalescent home on November 2, 2005, at age 82. Two sons survive.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Alfred Shaughnessy was the chief writer and script editor of Upstairs Downstairs, the ITV drama series about the lives of an Edwardian London family and their loyal servants. Much praised and fondly remembered, the series which ran from 1971-5 was widely acclaimed for its shrewd social comment. The brainchild of one of the stars of the series Jean Marsh and fellow actress Eileen Atkins, Shaughnessy wrote a third of the scripts. Alfred Shaughnessy was born in London in 1916. The family house in Norfolk Square consisted of a butler, cook, footman and several housemaids. His aristocratic upbringing was given much of the credit for the historical accuracy of Upstairs Downstairs. Educated at Summerfields and Eton, he went on to attend the Royal Military College, Sandhurst with the intention of joining the Grenadier Guards. He later resigned on grounds of conscience. He wrote sketches for West End revues and then worked as a script editor with Michael Balcon at Ealing Studios. He also wrote numerous television dramas including The Cedar Tree. One of his earliest offerings was a musical biography of the music hall star Marie Lloyd, Our Marie (written with Christopher Barry) which was shown in 1953. Upstairs Downstairs was his greatest success, although LWT originally only screened six episodes in a late night slot. The series was later sold worldwide and led to a spin off, Thomas and Sarah. An American version set in twenties Boston, Beacon Hill, was also produced. Shaughnessy also wrote episodes of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett, and the pilot for Ladies in Charge. He wrote an autobiography Both Ends of the Candle (1975) and two novels.- Simone Grant was born on 12 March 1961 in Salisbury, North Carolina, USA. She was an actress, known for Buttobi CPU (1997), Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight (1998) and Record of the Lodoss War (1990). She was married to Mike Timoney. She died on 2 November 2005 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Henry Rayner was born on 23 September 1915 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. He was an actor. He died on 2 November 2005 in Hendon, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Waldemar Nielsen was born on 27 March 1917 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He was married to Marcia Kaplan Nielsen. He died on 2 November 2005 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Ronald Plaisted was born on 9 August 1932 in Newport, Gwent, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for The Nutcracker (1968), Music for You (1951) and Pineapple Poll (1959). He died on 2 November 2005 in Clapham, London, England, UK.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Rick Rhodes was born on 28 July 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a composer, known for Santa Barbara (1984), Guiding Light (1952) and Rollerball (2002). He was married to Vivian Rhodes. He died on 2 November 2005 in Oak Park, California, USA.- Charline Burt was born on 11 April 1911. She was an actress, known for Beyond the Rio Grande (1930) and Buying a Gun (1929). She died on 2 November 2005 in Torrance, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Renato Cominetti was born in Naples in 1915, where he began his career as a stage actor activities; After the war he moved to Rome and in 1947 he joined the RAI, in Prose Society of Radio Rome, next to actors like Ubaldo Lay, Franco Becci, Gianfranco Bellini, Lia Curci, Nella Maria Bonora, and directors as Anton Giulio Majano, Peter Masserano Taricco, Guglielmo Morandi, Franco Rossi. Later also joined the Society of Musical Comedy Theater increasingly Radio Roma; his colleagues are Wanda Tettoni, Antonella Steni, Mario Pisu, Isa Bellini, Renato Turi, Bice Values, Fausto Tommei, Zoe Incrocci, under the direction of Riccardo Mantoni. This company will produce most of the radio variety of Rai, until the sixties, as an alternative to that of Milan. In about thirty years as a radio actor, he attends several hundred plays and radio dramas, becoming a regular voice and recognizable by the listeners.- Ferruccio Valcareggi was born on 12 February 1919 in Trieste, Italy. He died on 2 November 2005 in Florence, Italy.
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Mats G. Bengtsson was born on 26 November 1944 in Helsingborg, Skåne län, Sweden. He was an actor and composer, known for Miffo (2003), Ebba the Movie (1982) and Hammar (1992). He died on 2 November 2005 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.