Jean Carson
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Jean Carson (born February 28, 1923, Charleston, West Virginia, died November 2, 2005, Palm Springs, California) was an American actress best known for her work on the classic 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.
Born to Alexander and Sadie Leete (descendant of William Leete, first governor of the Colony of Connecticut) Carson, Jean first became interested in show business as a child, playing a "bad little Indian girl". At age 12 she got her first acting job, five dollars for a small part in a production of Carmen that traveled through Charleston. 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 and in 1948, after studies at Carnegie Mellon University, Carson made her Broadway debut in George S. Kaufman's Bravo. Other Broadway work included Anniversary Waltz with Macdonald Carey, Two Blind Mice with Melvyn Douglas, and Bird Cage, which garnered her a Tony Award nomination.
Carson went on to appear in many pioneering television series, including Studio One, NBC Presents, The Twilight Zone (as Paula in A Most Unusual Camera, a part written especially for her by Rod Serling) and The Ford Theatre Hour. She continued to make guest starring appearances throughout the 1950's, as well as a regular role on 1959's The Betty Hutton Show (Carson described Hutton as a "foulmouthed old biddy" and said that was the only acting experience she did not enjoy) and roles in films such as 1955's The Phenix City Story and 1958's I Married a Monster from Outer Space. 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.") and that they helped her get work on The Andy Griffith Show.
Carson had a brief role as Naomi in a 1962 episode, but her most popular role was Daphne, one of the "fun girls," who appeared with Joyce Jameson on a recurring basis from 1962 to 1965. Daphne was a notorious flirt who greeted her objects of affection with a throaty "Hello Doll." These episodes are among the most popular with fans of the series.
Carson obtained fourth billing in the 1968 Peter Sellers comedy The Party, perhaps her best known film. For the first half of the 1970s Carson had a drinking problem which limited her acting career. Her last film role was 1977's Fun with Dick and Jane. She retired early in the next decade, save for some plays in the Palm Springs area (where she had moved to be close to her children); Carson was also active in Alcoholics Anonymous. Carson associated herself with The Andy Griffith Show for many years, attending cast performances, conventions, and other meetings and writing back to fans personally until she was paralyzed by a stroke in September 2005.
Carson died at the age of 82 on November 2, 2005. She was survived by two sons, a sister, and a niece.
