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 ''Mutt and Jeff'' was a long-running and widely popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns". It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newspape ...

''.Newspaper columnist Erskine Johnson 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 Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

, 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 The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

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 mystery '' The Phantom Thief'', 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 ''The Fuller Brush Girl'' is a 1950 slapstick comedy starring Lucille Ball and directed by Lloyd Bacon. Animator Frank Tashlin wrote the script. Ball plays a quirky door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman for the Fuller Brush Company. The film also sta ...

'' (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 ''Gidget Goes Hawaiian'' is a 1961 American romantic comedy musical film starring James Darren, Michael Callan and Deborah Walley. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film is a sequel to the 1959 Sandra Dee beach film vehicle ''Gidget''. Dee was ...

'' 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 Gidge ...

'') 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 Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing fri ...

'' television series, and portrayed Mrs. Bennett in the TV series ''

Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

''). 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 Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916-2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of t ...

'' 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'' (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'' (1942) - Winnie Slade *'' A Night to Remember'' (1942) - Anne Stafford Carstairs *''

What's Buzzin', Cousin? ''What's Buzzin', Cousin?'' is a 1943 American musical film directed by Charles Barton and written by Harry Sauber and John P. Medbury. The film stars Ann Miller, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, John Hubbard, Freddy Martin, Leslie Brooks and Jeff ...

'' (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 fil ...

'' (1943) - Molly Callahan *'' There's Something About a Soldier'' (1943) - Jean Burton *''

Nine Girls ''Nine Girls'' is a 1944 American mystery film directed by Leigh Jason and starring Ann Harding, Evelyn Keyes and Jinx Falkenburg.Blottner p.167 Karen DeWolf, Connie Lee, and Al Martin wrote the script, which was based on a play by Wilfred H. Peti ...

'' (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 and television), 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 w ...

'' (1944) - Mary Fleming (uncredited) *''

Sensations of 1945 ''Sensations of 1945'' is a 1944 American musical-comedy film directed by Andrew Stone and starring Eleanor Powell. Released by United Artists, the film was an attempt to recapture the ensemble style of films such as ''Broadway Melody of 1936'' ...

'' (1944) - Young Girl (uncredited) *''

Mr. Winkle Goes to War ''Mr. Winkle Goes to War'' is a 1944 war comedy film starring Edward G. Robinson and Ruth Warrick, based on a novel by Theodore Pratt. Plot On June 1, 1942, after fourteen years working in a bank, mild-mannered 44-year-old Wilbert G. Winkle su ...

'' (1944) - USO Hostess (uncredited) *''

Three Is a Family ''Three Is a Family'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Marjorie Reynolds, Charlie Ruggles, and Fay Bainter. The film was nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Sound, Best So ...

'' (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'' (1945) - Penelope 'Penny' Stevens *''

Tars and Spars ''Tars and Spars'' is a 1946 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Alfred Drake, Janet Blair, and Marc Platt. Plot Howard Young is a coast guardsman who has been on shore duty for three years despite ...

'' (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'' (1946) - Martha Cochrane *'' The Phantom Thief'' (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 A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

'' (1946) - Susan Nelson *'' Singing on the Trail'' (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 ''Stagecoach Kid'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Tim Holt, Jeff Donnell and Richard Martin. It was one of a number of B-Westerns Holt made for RKO.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Roc ...

'' (1949) - Jessie Arnold *''

Outcasts of the Trail ''Outcasts of the Trail'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by Philip Ford and written by Olive Cooper. The film stars Monte Hale, Paul Hurst, Jeff Donnell, Roy Barcroft, John Gallaudet and Milton Parsons. The film was released on June ...

'' (1949) - Vinnie White *'' Post Office Investigator'' (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 *''

'' (1950) - Jane Bixby *'' Redwood Forest Trail'' (1950) - Julie Westcott *''

Walk Softly, Stranger ''Walk Softly, Stranger'' is a 1950 American romantic drama film starring Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli and directed by Robert Stevenson. Also regarded by some as either or both a film noir and crime film, it tells the story of a small-time crook ...

'' (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 '' Thief of Damascus '' is a 1952 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Will Jason and starring Paul Henreid. The film features a generous use of stock footage from such films as ''Joan of Arc''. The film, produced by Sam Katzman, was ...

'' (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'' de ...

*''

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'' (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'' (1953) - Henrietta Van Dyke *''

Flight Nurse A flight nurse is a registered nurse who specialises in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally during aeromedical evacuat ...

'' (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 ...

'' (1956) - Julie *'' Mr. Adams and Eve'' (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 exp ...

'' (1957) - Mary Wheller *'' Destination 60,000'' (1957) - Ruth Buckley *''

Sweet Smell of Success ''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick from t ...

'' (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 *''

'' (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 h ...

'' (1961) - Louise Reese *''

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 c ...

'' (1962-1964, TV Series) - Rose Carol *'' The Iron Maiden'' (1963; released in the U.S. as ''Swinging Maiden'') - Miriam Fisher *''

'' (1963) - Mrs. Lawrence *''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...

'' (1966, TV Series) - Eleanor Digby *''

The Comic ''The Comic'' is a 1969 American Pathécolor comedy-drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Carl Reiner. It stars Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright (which was the original title of the film), Michele Lee as Bright's love interest, and R ...

'' (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 ''The Jimmy Stewart Show'' is an American situation comedy starring James Stewart as a college professor in a small town who shares his home with three generations of his family. Twenty-four episodes of the show were broadcast during the 1971� ...

'' (1971, TV Series) - Agatha Dwiggins *'' Stand Up and Be Counted'' (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 ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

'' (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 ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psy ...

'' (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 Ned Scott (April 16, 1907 – November 24, 1964) was an American photographer who worked in the Hollywood film industry as a still photographer from 1935–1948. As a member of the Camera Club of New York from 1930–34, he was heavily influ ...

{{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