Jean Muir (actress)
| Jean Muir | |
|---|---|
|
Warner Bros. publicity portrait of Jean Muir | |
| Born |
Jean Muir Fullarton February 13, 1911 Suffern, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
July 23, 1996 (aged 85) Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
| Years active | 1930–1968 |
| Spouse(s) |
Henry Jaffe (married 1940–1960) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Michael Jaffe (son) |
Jean Muir (February 13, 1911 – July 23, 1996) was an American stage and film actress and educator. She was the first performer to be blacklisted after her name appeared in the infamous anti-Communist 1950 pamphlet Red Channels.
Career
Born in Suffern, New York, as Jean Muir Fullarton, she first appeared on Broadway in 1930, and was signed by Warner Bros. three years later. She played opposite several famous actors including Warren William, Paul Muni, Richard Barthelmess and Franchot Tone, but she returned to Broadway in 1937 because she was unsatisfied with the roles. She appeared occasionally in films through 1943. She was also one of the candidates for the role of Melanie in Gone with the Wind.[1]
In 1950 Muir was named as a Communist sympathizer by the notorious pamphlet Red Channels, and immediately removed from the cast of the television sitcom The Aldrich Family, in which she had been cast as Mrs. Aldrich. NBC had received between 20 and 30 phone calls protesting her being in the show. General Foods, the sponsor, said that it would not sponsor programs in which "controversial persons" were featured. Though the company later received thousands of calls protesting the decision, it was not reversed. Muir was the first performer to be deprived of employment because of a listing in Red Channels.[2]In the mid-1950s she reportedly suffered from alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver.[3]
She was back on Broadway and TV by the early 1960s. In 1968 she moved to Columbia, Missouri, where she taught drama at Stephens College.
Muir died in Mesa, Arizona on July 23, 1996.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6280 Hollywood Blvd.[4]
Filmography
Sources for Jean Muir's filmography include the Internet Movie Database,[5] the Turner Classic Movies Database,[6] The Warner Bros. Story (1979) by Clive Hirschhorn, and Alanna Nash's cover story in Take One (July–August 1977).
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Bureau of Missing Persons | Louise Kane | uncredited |
| 1933 | Female | Miss Joyce | uncredited |
| 1933 | The World Changes | Selma Peterson, her granddaughter Selma | |
| 1933 | Son of a Sailor | Helen Farnsworth | |
| 1934 | Bedside | Caroline Grant | |
| 1934 | As the Earth Turns | Jen Shaw | |
| 1934 | A Modern Hero | Joanna Ryan Croy | |
| 1934 | Dr. Monica | Mary Hathaway | |
| 1934 | Desirable | Lois Johnson | |
| 1934 | Gentlemen are Born | Trudy Talbot | |
| 1935 | The White Cockatoo | Sue Talley | |
| 1935 | Oil for the Lamps of China | Alice | |
| 1935 | Orchids to You | Camillia Rand | |
| 1935 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Helena | |
| 1935 | Stars Over Broadway | Nora Wyman | |
| 1936 | Faithful | Marilyn Koster | Warner Bros.-First National Teddington; lost film |
| 1936 | White Fang | Sylvia Burgess | |
| 1936 | Fugitive in the Sky | Rita Moore | |
| 1937 | Once a Doctor | Paula Nordland | |
| 1937 | Her Husband's Secretary | Carol Blane Kingdon | |
| 1937 | The Outcasts of Poker Flat | Miss Helen Colby | |
| 1937 | Draegerman Courage | Ellen Haslett | |
| 1937 | White Bondage | Betsy Ann Craig | |
| 1937 | Dance Charlie Dance | Mary Mathews | |
| 1938 | Jane Steps Out | Beatrice Wilton | |
| 1940 | And One Was Beautiful | Helen Lattimer | |
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | Joan Bradley | |
| 1943 | The Constant Nymph | Kate Sanger | |
| 1949 | Starring Boris Karloff (TV series) | "False Face" | |
| 1949 | Actors Studio (TV series) | "Clarissa" "A Child Is Born" | |
| 1950 | The Philco Television Playhouse (TV series) | "The Sudden Guest" | |
| 1958 | Matinee Theater (TV series) | "The Story of Marcia Gordon" | |
| 1959 | Naked City (TV series) | Mrs. Kling | "Hey, Teach!" |
| 1961 | Route 66 (TV series) | Beatrice Ware | "A Bridge Across Five Days" |
| 1962 | Naked City (TV series) | Mrs. Lund | "The One Marked Hot Gives Cold" |
References
- ↑ Pratt, William. Scarlett fever: the ultimate pictorial treasury of Gone with the wind : featuring the collection of Herb Bridges, Macmillan, 1977, p.68
- ↑ Brown, Jared (1989). Zero Mostel: A Biography. New York: Atheneum. p. 89. ISBN 978-0689119552.
- ↑ Vosburgh, Dick, Obituary: Jean Muir. The Independent, August 2, 1996. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ↑ Jean Muir, Hollywood Star Walk Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ↑ Jean Muir at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ↑ Jean Muir at the Turner Classic Movies Database. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jean Muir. |
- Jean Muir at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jean Muir at the Internet Movie Database
- Jean Muir at AllMovie
- Jean Muir at Find a Grave
- Jean Muir at Virtual history
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