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 ...

, 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 Newspap ...

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 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 (an ...

'' (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 Gold ...

on the set of the 1948 RKO Radio Pictures 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'') and Columbia's TV subsidiary Screen Gems (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'' as Evelyn Driscoll, and she played Ethel on the '' Matt Helm'' TV series. Her last Columbia feature was the women's lib-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 - She ...

'' (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 (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

'' General Hospital'', 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?'' (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'' (1944) - Girl from Brooklyn (uncredited) *'' Stars on Parade'' (1944) - Mary Brooks *'' She's a Soldier Too'' (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'' (1944) - Julie Connors *''

Carolina Blues ''Carolina Blues'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Leigh Jason and written by Joseph Hoffman, Al Martin and Jack Henley. The film stars Kay Kyser, Ann Miller, Victor Moore, Jeff Donnell, Howard Freeman, Georgia Carroll, M.A. Bogue, Ha ...

'' (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 th ...

'' (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 (genre), 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 Thurs ...

'' (1945) - Penelope 'Penny' Stevens *'' Tars and Spars'' (1946) - Penny McDougal *'' Throw a Saddle on a Star'' (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 in ...

'' (1946) - Martha Cochrane *'' The Phantom Thief'' (1946) - Anne Parks Duncan *'' That Texas Jamboree'' (1946) - Jean Warren *'' The Unknown'' (1946, One of the "I Love A Mystery" movies) - Nina Arnold *'' Cowboy Blues'' (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 Septemb ...

'' (1946) - Cindy Brown *'' It's Great to Be Young'' (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 initi ...

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

'' (1950) - Sylvia Nicolai *'' Hoedown'' (1950) - Vera Wright *'' Big Timber'' (1950) - Sally *'' The Fuller Brush Girl'' (1950) - Jane Bixby *'' Redwood Forest Trail'' (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 *''

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 fi ...

'' (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 i ...

'' (1952) - Patty Ware *'' The Blue Gardenia'' (1953) - Sally Ellis *'' So This Is Love'' (1953) - Henrietta Van Dyke *'' Flight Nurse'' (1953) - Lt. Ann Phillips *'' Massacre Canyon'' (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 o ...

'' (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 8, ...

'' (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'' (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 tak ...

'' (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 th ...

'' (1963; released in the U.S. as ''Swinging Maiden'') - Miriam Fisher *'' Gidget Goes to Rome'' (1963) - Mrs. Lawrence *'' The Addams Family'' (1966, TV Series) - Eleanor Digby *'' The Comic'' (1969) - Nurse *'' Tora! Tora! Tora!'' (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, 19 ...

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

'' (1972) - Ruth *'' Adam-12'' (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 mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

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