Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell (July 10, 1921 – April 11, 1988) was an American film and television actress.

Early years

Donnell was born in

South Windham, Maine South Windham is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Windham in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population of the CDP was 1,374 at the 2010 census. Prior to 2010, South Windham was part of the Little Falls-South Windham c ...

, to Harold and Mildred Donnell, when her father was superintendent at a boys' reformatory in that town. As a child, she adopted the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Jeff" after the character in her favorite comic strip, '' Mutt and Jeff''.Newspaper columnist

Erskine Johnson Erskine Johnson (December 14, 1910 - June 14, 1984) was a Hollywood gossip columnist who worked for the Hearst newspaper chain and appeared on the radio and in motion pictures. Career His column "Hollywood Notes" was syndicated by the Newsp ...

wrote in a July 12, 1943, article, "... an uncle nicknamed her Jeff when she was three years old and the name stuck." To avoid gender confusion, she was sometimes billed as "(Miss) Jeff Donnell." Donnell graduated from

Towson High School Towson High School is a high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, founded in 1873. The school's current stone structure was built in 1949. Located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson and serving the surrounding communities ...

, Towson, Maryland, in 1938 and attended the

Leland Powers School The Leland Powers School, also known as the Leland Powers School of Communication, Leland Powers School of Radio, Theatre, and Television, Leland Powers Theatre School, the Leland Powers School of Expression, Leland Powers School of the Spoken Word ...

of Drama in Boston, Massachusetts. Later, she studied at the Yale School of Drama.

Career

Donnell was signed to a contract by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

while she was active with the Farragut Playhouse in New Hampshire, and she made her film debut in ''

My Sister Eileen ''My Sister Eileen'' is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in ''The New Yorker'', which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book ''My Sister Eileen'', a play, a musical, a radio play (a ...

'' (1942). She became a fixture at Columbia, working steadily in comedies, mysteries, westerns, and musicals for five years, and then off and on at the studio from 1950 to 1972. During the 1940s she was typically the house tomboy, a plain-speaking sidekick for the glamorous ingenue, and developed a flair for comedy. Columbia did give Donnell the glamour treatment later (in the 1946

Boston Blackie Boston Blackie is a fictional character created by author Jack Boyle (1881–1928). Blackie, a jewel thief and safecracker in Boyle's stories, became a detective in adaptations for films, radio and television—an "enemy to those who make him an ...

mystery ''

The Phantom Thief ''The Phantom Thief'' is a 1946 American crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman. The film follows detective Boston Blackie as he tries to track down a blackmailer-murderer. As the investigation goes on, a supernatural element becomes clear. ...

'', in which she played a troubled heiress), but she never shook the sidekick image. When her Columbia contract ran out, she freelanced at other studios, mostly in low-budget action pictures. She returned to Columbia in 1950. She had met

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

on the set of the 1948

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

production '' Easy Living''; Ball remembered Donnell and recruited her to play her sidekick in '' The Fuller Brush Girl'' (1950). Donnell continued to play character roles in motion pictures and television; for three seasons, she portrayed George Gobel's wife, Alice, in ''The George Gobel Show'' (1954–1957) on NBC-TV. Many of her assignments were for Columbia (notably as Gidget's mother Dorothy Lawrence in '' Gidget Goes Hawaiian'' and ''

Gidget Goes to Rome ''Gidget Goes to Rome'' is a 1963 Columbia Pictures Eastmancolor feature film starring Cindy Carol as the archetypal high school teen surfer girl originally portrayed by Sandra Dee in the 1959 film ''Gidget''. The film is the third of three Gidg ...

'') and Columbia's TV subsidiary

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

(she played Hannah Marshall in the '' Gidget'' television series, and portrayed Mrs. Bennett in the TV series '' Julia''). In 1966 she made five appearances on ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' as Evelyn Driscoll, and she played Ethel on the '' Matt Helm'' TV series. Her last Columbia feature was the

women's lib The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

-themed comedy ''

Stand Up and Be Counted ''Stand Up and Be Counted'' is a 1972 American comedy film directed by Jackie Cooper and starring Jacqueline Bisset and Stella Stevens. It features the recording of "I Am Woman" (1971) by Helen Reddy. Plot Cast * Jacqueline Bisset - Sheila ...

'' (1972). Her final recurring role was as Stella Fields, the Quartermaines' housekeeper, in the popular

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', from 1979 to 1988. In a Lonely Place - trailer - 06

Her other notable appearances in movies and television include: *''

'' (1942) - Helen Loomis *''

The Boogie Man Will Get You ''The Boogie Man Will Get You'' is a 1942 American comedy horror film directed by Lew Landers and starring Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. It was the final film Karloff made under his contract with Columbia Pictures, and it was filmed in the wake ...

'' (1942) - Winnie Slade *'' A Night to Remember'' (1942) - Anne Stafford Carstairs *'' What's Buzzin', Cousin?'' (1943) - Billie (uncredited) *''

Doughboys in Ireland ''Doughboys in Ireland'' is a 1943 American musical war film directed by Lew Landers and starring Kenny Baker, Jeff Donnell and Lynn Merrick.Krutnik p.232 The film offered an early role for future star Robert Mitchum, who appeared in many films ...

'' (1943) - Molly Callahan *'' There's Something About a Soldier'' (1943) - Jean Burton *'' Nine Girls'' (1944) - 'Butch' Hendricks *''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'' (1944) - Girl from Brooklyn (uncredited) *'' Stars on Parade'' (1944) - Mary Brooks *''

She's a Soldier Too ''She's a Soldier Too'' is a 1944 American drama film directed by William Castle and written by Melvin Levy. The film stars Beulah Bondi, Nina Foch, Jess Barker, Lloyd Bridges, Percy Kilbride and Ida Moore. The film was released on June 29, 1944, ...

'' (1944) - Mary Fleming (uncredited) *'' Sensations of 1945'' (1944) - Young Girl (uncredited) *'' Mr. Winkle Goes to War'' (1944) - USO Hostess (uncredited) *'' Three Is a Family'' (1944) - Hazel Whittaker *''

Dancing in Manhattan ''Dancing in Manhattan'' is a 1944 American film directed by Henry Levin. It was originally called ''Tonight We Dance''.FILMLAND BRIEFS Los Angeles Times4 Nov 1944: 5. Plot A garbage truck driver, Eddie Martin (Fred Brady) from Manhattan finds ...

'' (1944) - Julie Connors *''

Carolina Blues ''Carolina Blues'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Leigh Jason and written by Joseph Hoffman, Al Martin (screenwriter), Al Martin and Jack Henley. The film stars Kay Kyser, Ann Miller, Victor Moore, Jeff Donnell, Howard Freeman, Georgi ...

'' (1944) - Charlotte Barton *''

Eadie Was a Lady ''Eadie Was a Lady'' is a 1945 American musical comedy. Plot Eadie Allen is a student at Glen Moor College and the niece of a wealthy Boston socialite (Aunt Priscilla) in Back Bay. She has secretly taken a new job as a dancer in a seedy burlesq ...

'' (1945) - Pamela 'Pepper' Parker *''

The Power of the Whistler ''The Power of the Whistler'' is a 1945 film noir thriller film based on the radio drama ''The Whistler''. Directed by Lew Landers, the production features Richard Dix. It is the third of Columbia Pictures' eight " Whistler" films produced in ...

'' (1945) - Francie *'' A Thousand and One Nights'' (1945) - Harem Girl (uncredited) *''

Over 21 ''Over 21'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Irene Dunne, Alexander Knox and Charles Coburn. Plot At the New York Bulletin newspaper, its owner, Robert Drexel Gow ( Charles Coburn), receives a teletype s ...

'' (1945) - Jan Lupton *''

Song of the Prairie ''Song of the Prairie'' is a 1945 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Ken Curtis, June Storey, Andy Clyde, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Jeff Donnell, Grady Sutton and Thurston Hall. The fil ...

'' (1945) - Penelope 'Penny' Stevens *'' Tars and Spars'' (1946) - Penny McDougal *''

Throw a Saddle on a Star ''Throw a Saddle on a Star'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Ken Curtis, Jeff Donnell, Adele Roberts, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Andy Clyde and Frank Sully. The film was ...

'' (1946) - Judy Lane *''

Night Editor ''Night Editor'' is a 1946 B-movie film noir directed by Henry Levin and based on a popular radio program of the same name. The script for the film was based on a previous radio program episode "Inside Story.". The movie was to be the first i ...

'' (1946) - Martha Cochrane *''

'' (1946) - Anne Parks Duncan *''

That Texas Jamboree ''That Texas Jamboree'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Ken Curtis, Jeff Donnell, Andy Clyde, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, and Robert Kellard. The film was released on May 1 ...

'' (1946) - Jean Warren *'' The Unknown'' (1946, One of the "I Love A Mystery" movies) - Nina Arnold *''

Cowboy Blues ''Cowboy Blues'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Ken Curtis, Jeff Donnell, Guy Kibbee, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Isabel Randolph, Mark Roberts and Peg LaCentra. The film w ...

'' (1946) - Susan Nelson *''

Singing on the Trail ''Singing on the Trail'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Ken Curtis, Jeff Donnell, Guy Kibbee, Dusty Anderson and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. The film was released on Septem ...

'' (1946) - Cindy Brown *''

It's Great to Be Young ''It's Great to Be Young'' is a 1956 musical Technicolor comedy film about a school music teacher, starring Cecil Parker and John Mills. Plot Mr Dingle (John Mills) seeks to interest his pupils in music in order to enjoy life, while the new ...

'' (1946) - Georgia Johnson *''

Mr. District Attorney ''Mr. District Attorney'' is a radio crime drama produced by Samuel Bischoff that aired on NBC and ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 (and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The series focused on a crusading district attorney initia ...

'' (1947) - Miss Miller *'' Roughshod'' (1949) - Elaine Wyatt *'' Stagecoach Kid'' (1949) - Jessie Arnold *'' Outcasts of the Trail'' (1949) - Vinnie White *''

Post Office Investigator ''Post Office Investigator'' is a 1949 black and white American crime film about the theft of postage stamps, directed by George Blair, and starring Audrey Long, Warren Douglas and Jeff Donnell. '' Allmovie'' called it a "diligent Republic p ...

'' (1949) - April Shaughnessy *'' Easy Living'' (1949) - Penny McCarr *''

In a Lonely Place ''In a Lonely Place'' is a 1950 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, produced for Bogart's Santana Productions. The script was written by Andrew P. Solt from Edmund H. North's adaptation o ...

'' (1950) - Sylvia Nicolai *''

Hoedown A hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it. Overview The most popular sense of the term is associated with Americans in rural or southeastern parts of the country, par ...

'' (1950) - Vera Wright *'' Big Timber'' (1950) - Sally *'' The Fuller Brush Girl'' (1950) - Jane Bixby *''

Redwood Forest Trail ''Redwood Forest Trail'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Philip Ford and written by Bradford Ropes. The film stars Rex Allen, Jeff Donnell, Carl Switzer, Jane Darwell, Marten Lamont and Pierre Watkin. The film was released on S ...

'' (1950) - Julie Westcott *'' Walk Softly, Stranger'' (1950) - Gwen *''

Three Guys Named Mike ''Three Guys Named Mike'' is a 1951 American romantic comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Jane Wyman, Van Johnson, Howard Keel, and Barry Sullivan.

'' (1951) - Alice Raymend *'' The First Time'' (1952) - Donna Gilbert *'' Thief of Damascus'' (1952) -

Sheherazade Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' deri ...

*''

Skirts Ahoy! ''Skirts Ahoy!'' is a 1952 MGM musical film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Esther Williams, Vivian Blaine and Joan Evans. It was shot in Technicolor. The film follows the adventures of several women who join the WAVES with sequences fil ...

'' (1952) - Lt. Giff *''

Because You're Mine ''Because You're Mine'' is a 1952 musical comedy film starring Mario Lanza. Directed by Alexander Hall, the film also stars Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, and Dean Miller. Plot Opera singer superstar Renato Rossano (Mario Lanza) is drafted in ...

'' (1952) - Patty Ware *''

The Blue Gardenia ''The Blue Gardenia'' is a 1953 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang from a screenplay by Charles Hoffman, based on the novella ''The Gardenia'' by Vera Caspary. The film stars Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, and Ann Sothern. An independent p ...

'' (1953) - Sally Ellis *''

So This Is Love So This Is Love may refer to: * "So This Is Love?" (song), by Van Halen * "So This Is Love" (song), by The Future Sound of London (recording as Mental Cube) * "So This Is Love", a song by Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers * "So This Is Love", a song ...

'' (1953) - Henrietta Van Dyke *'' Flight Nurse'' (1953) - Lt. Ann Phillips *''

Massacre Canyon The Massacre Canyon battle took place in Nebraska on August 5, 1873 near the Republican River. It was one of the last hostilities between the Pawnee and the Sioux (or Lakota) and the last battle/massacre between Great Plains Indians in North Ame ...

'' (1954) - Cora *''

Magnificent Roughnecks ''Magnificent Roughnecks'' is a 1956 American comedy film directed by Sherman A. Rose and written by Stephen Kandel. The film stars Jack Carson, Mickey Rooney, Nancy Gates, Jeff Donnell, Myron Healey and Willis Bouchey. The film was released on J ...

'' (1956) - Julie *''

Mr. Adams and Eve ''Mr. Adams and Eve'' is an American situation comedy television series about a married couple who are both movie stars. It stars Howard Duff and Ida Lupino (who were actually married at the time) and aired on CBS from January 4, 1957, to July ...

'' (1957, Episode: "You Can't Go Home Again") - Adele *''

The Guns of Fort Petticoat ''The Guns of Fort Petticoat'' is a 1957 American Western film produced by Harry Joe Brown and Audie Murphy for Brown-Murphy Pictures. It was based on the 1955 short story "Petticoat Brigade" by Chester William Harrison (1913–1994) that he ex ...

'' (1957) - Mary Wheller *'' Destination 60,000'' (1957) - Ruth Buckley *'' Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957) - Sally *''

My Man Godfrey ''My Man Godfrey'' is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring William Powell and Carole Lombard, who had been briefly married years before appearing together in the film. The screenplay for ''My Man Godfre ...

'' (1957) - Molly *'' Gidget Goes Hawaiian'' (1961) - Dorothy Lawrence *''

Force of Impulse '' Force of Impulse'' is a 1961 American drama film directed by Saul Swimmer and starring Robert Alda, Jeff Donnell and J. Carrol Naish.McCarty p.192 A high school student robs his own father's grocery store in order to raise the money to take his ...

'' (1961) - Louise Reese *'' Perry Mason'' (1962-1964, TV Series) - Rose Carol *''

The Iron Maiden ''The Iron Maiden'' is a 1963 British comedy film. The film was directed by Gerald Thomas, and stars Michael Craig, Anne Helm, Jeff Donnell and Alan Hale, Jr. There are minor roles for ''Carry On'' stalwarts Jim Dale and Joan Sims, and the vet ...

'' (1963; released in the U.S. as ''Swinging Maiden'') - Miriam Fisher *''

'' (1963) - Mrs. Lawrence *'' The Addams Family'' (1966, TV Series) - Eleanor Digby *'' The Comic'' (1969) - Nurse *''

Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ！) is a 1970 epic film, epic war film that dramatizes the Empire of Japan, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, T ...

'' (1970) -

Cornelia Fort Cornelia Clark Fort (February 5, 1919 – March 21, 1943) was a United States aviator who became famous for being part of two aviation-related events. The first occurred while conducting a civilian training flight at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1 ...

, a flying instructor *'' The Jimmy Stewart Show'' (1971, TV Series) - Agatha Dwiggins *''

'' (1972) - Ruth *''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the stre ...

'' (1973, TV Series) - Mrs James Nelson *'' Barnaby Jones'' (1973, Episode: "Sunday: Doomsday") - Janet Gossett *''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'' (1977, TV Series) - Aunt May Parker *'' The Bob Newhart Show'' (1978, TV Series) - Clara Hackler ("The Little Woman") *''

'' (1979–1988, in the TV

) - Stella Fields (final appearance)

Personal life

Donnell's first marriage was in 1940 to William "Bill" Anderson, who was her teacher at the Leland Powers Dramatic School. She had her only children with him, Michael Phineas (b. 1942) and Sarah Jane (b. 1948), before their divorce in 1953.

Death

Donnell died of a heart attack on April 11, 1988, aged 66. Her sudden absence from ''General Hospital'' was explained away by the writers as her character having won the lottery and quit her job.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Photos of Jeff Donnell 1940s various films
by Ned Scott {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnell, Jeff 1921 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Maine American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses People from Windham, Maine RKO Pictures contract players Towson High School alumni Yale School of Drama alumni