Jean Leete Carson (February 28, 1923 – November 2, 2005) was an American stage, film and television actress best known for her work on the classic 1960s

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'' as one of the " fun girls".

Early life

Carson was born in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, to Alexander W. Carson and Sadie (née Leete; a descendant of

William Leete William Leete (1612 or 1613 – 16 April 1683) was Governor of the Colony of New Haven from 1661 to 1665 and Governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683. Biography Leete was born about 1612 or 1613 at Diddington, Huntingdonshire, En ...

, first governor of the

Colony of Connecticut The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

). She first became interested in show business as a child, playing a "bad little Indian girl". At the age of 12, she got her first acting job, earning $5 for a small part in a production of ''Carmen'' that traveled through her hometown. In high school she was voted Girl Most Likely to Succeed as an Actress. Carson told her mother she was going to be on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Before she achieved that goal, she attended

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Stage

Carson's early theatrical work included acting in productions of the Kanawha Players. She made her Broadway debut in

George S. Kaufman George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, theater director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and others. ...

's ''Bravo'' (1958). Her other Broadway work included ''Anniversary Waltz'' with

Macdonald Carey Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast member. ...

, ''Two Blind Mice'' with

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchka ...

, and ''Bird Cage'', which garnered her a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nomination.

Television

Carson went on to appear in many pioneering television series, including '' Studio One'', ''NBC Presents'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' (as Paula in "

A Most Unusual Camera "A Most Unusual Camera" is episode 46 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone'', and was the tenth episode of the second season. It originally aired on December 16, 1960 on CBS, and was an episode written by the show's crea ...

", a part written especially for her by

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ' ...

) and ''

The Ford Theatre Hour ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950 ...

''. She continued to make guest starring appearances throughout the 1950s, including Paula in ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'' in 1958 as well as a regular role on 1959's ''

The Betty Hutton Show ''The Betty Hutton Show'' is an American sitcom that aired from October 1, 1959, until June 30, 1960, on CBS's Thursday schedule (8-8:30 pm Eastern). The show was sponsored by General Foods' Post Cereals, and was produced by Desilu and Hutton Produ ...

''. (Carson described Hutton as a "foulmouthed old biddy" and said that was the only acting experience she did not enjoy.) She played the part of a saloon owner (Maggie) who takes in an orphan in season 1 episode 9 of the series ''Sugarfoot'' in 1958. On ''The Andy Griffith show,'' Carson had a brief role as Naomi in a 1962 episode ("Convicts At Large" with

Jane Dulo Jane Dulo (October 13, 1917 – May 22, 1994) was an American actress and comedian. Dulo was born Berniece Dewlow, the elder daughter of Lawrence and Nettie Dewlow, she began her career at the age of ten performing in vaudeville. Her father was ...

and

Reta Shaw Reta Shaw (September 13, 1912 – January 8, 1982) was an American character actress known for playing strong, hard-edged, working women in film and on many of the most popular television programs of the 1960s and 1970s in the United Sta ...

), but her most popular role was Daphne, one of the " fun girls", who appeared with

Joyce Jameson Joyce Jameson (born Joyce Beverly Kingsley; September 26, 1932 – January 16, 1987) was an American actress, known for many television roles, including recurring guest appearances as Skippy, one of the "fun girls" in the 1960s television seri ...

on a recurring basis from 1962 to 1965. Daphne was a notorious flirt who greeted her objects of affection with a throaty "Hello Doll". In February 1964, she had a featured role as a nosy neighbor in "The Case of the Bountiful Beauty", season 7, episode 17 of ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

''.

Film

Carson had roles in films such as 1955's ''

The Phenix City Story ''The Phenix City Story'' is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson for Allied Artists, written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur and starring John McIntire, Richard Kiley, and Kathryn Grant. It had an unusual "triple ...

'' and 1958's ''

I Married a Monster from Outer Space ''I Married a Monster from Outer Space'' is a 1958 American horror science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Gene Fowler Jr., that stars Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbott. Paramount released the film as a double feature w ...

''. Carson felt she was typecast by some of these roles ("I'm what you call a 'second woman' or 'second tomato.' They never get the man." ). She earned fourth billing in the 1968

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

comedy '' The Party'', perhaps her best-known film. Her last film role was 1977's ''Fun with Dick and Jane''.

Personal life

For the first half of the 1970s Carson had a drinking problem which limited her acting career. She retired early in the 1980s, with the exception of mentoring from community theater actors in the

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

area, where she had moved to be close to her children. She later became sober. She was associated with ''The Andy Griffith Show'' for many years, attending cast performances, conventions, and other meetings and writing back to fans personally until she suffered a severe stroke which left her incapacitated in September 2005. Carson was married to Leonard Smith, Jr., who was the assistant manager of the Roxy Theater.

Death

On November 2, 2005, Carson died in Palm Springs, California, from complications of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

; she was 82 years old. She was survived by two sons.

Filmography

References

External links

"Hello Doll" - Official website
* * *
2003 Jean Carson interview
a
Christian Activities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Jean 1923 births 2005 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Actors from Charleston, West Virginia Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Palm Springs, California Actresses from West Virginia 20th-century American actresses