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Jeannie Carson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the English-born actress. For the American actress, see Jean Carson.

Jeannie Carson
Born
Jean Shufflebottom

(1928-05-23)23 May 1928
Pudsey, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died1 August 2022(2022-08-01) (aged 94)
NationalityBritish
Other namesJean Carson
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, dancer
Years active1948–1970
Spouses
  • William Redmond
​
​
(m. 1960; died 2021)​
[1]
Children2

Jeannie Carson (born Jean Shufflebottom; 23 May 1928 – 1 August 2022) was a British-born American actress,[2] singer, and dancer. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life

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Born to show business parents,[3] Carson was born as Jean Shufflebottom in Pudsey, West Riding of Yorkshire.[4] In her early British films, she performed under the name Jean Carson, but later changed her given name to "Jeannie" to avoid confusion with the American actress Jean Carson.[4]

Acting career

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Carson had an early role in A Date with a Dream (1948). In 1949 she was a principal boy at the Theatre Royal in Birmingham. She left Birmingham and was cast as the head of the chorus in Noel Coward's Ace of Clubs. In 1951 she went into a musical, Latin Quarter at London casino.[5]

Carson acted in Love from Judy on stage in London. This debuted in 1951 and ran until 1953; the BBC broadcast a film version. Carson was also in the film Love in Pawn (1953). After producer Max Liebman saw her in Love from Judy, he signed her to a contract to appear on television in the United States,[3] starting with a six-episode color version of the Broadway musical Best Foot Forward and then in a version of Heidi. In January 1953 she released her first recording on the newly formed Philips label, "Barrels and Barrels of Roses".[6]

Carson was in two films for J. Lee Thompson co-starring Diana Dors, As Long as They're Happy (1955) and An Alligator Named Daisy (1955). [7] In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced her as one of the actors under contract to Rank that Davis thought would become an international star.[8][9]

In 1956, she starred in her own series Hey, Jeannie!,[3] which aired on CBS. The series lasted one season before being cancelled in 1957, although six new episodes with a revamped format were broadcast in syndication in 1958 with the title The Jeannie Carson Show, and reruns of Hey, Jeannie! were aired in primetime during the summer of 1960, also under the title The Jeannie Carson Show.[citation needed] She appeared as a guest panelist on the February 24, 1957 telecast of What's My Line?.[10] In the US, Carson guest-starred on episodes of Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre ("A Dangerous Thing"), Wagon Train ("The Annie MacGregor Story" S1 E21 1958) and General Electric Theatre ("Time to Go Now"). On TV she acted in versions of Little Women, Berkeley Square, and A Kiss for Cinderella.

In Britain, Carson was the female lead in Rockets Galore (1958).[11] In 1960 she was in a short-lived revival of Finian's Rainbow on Broadway. Carson appeared in the British film Seven Keys (1961) and on TV starred in versions of Quillow and the Gian, What Every Woman Knows, and The Rivals. In 1962 she took over the role of Maria in The Sound of Music on Broadway. In 1969, she appeared as Marcy Vincente on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow. Oscar-winning actress Anne Revere played her mother and Anthony George played her husband. In 1970 she was in Blood Red Roses on Broadway.

Personal life and death

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In 1960, Carson married her second husband, actor Biff McGuire,[4] while both were starring in the Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow. The couple had two children. They toured together in 1961 in Camelot, with McGuire as King Arthur and Carson as Guenevere. Later, they performed at the Seattle Repertory for fifteen years, often together.[1][12]

She became a naturalized United States citizen on 24 May 1965, the day after her 37th birthday.[13]

Carson died on 1 August 2022, at the age of 94.[14]

Filmography

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Broadway appearances

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References

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  1. ^ a b Barnes, Mike (3 April 2021). "William "Biff" McGuire, Two-Time Tony-Nominated Actor, Dies at 94". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Jean Carson". Unsung Heroines. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Gaver, Jack (16 September 1962). "Vivacious Jeannie Carson Is Waiting for New Musical". Tennessee, Kingsport. Kingsport Times-News. p. 30. Retrieved 12 January 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c "British Film Institute Film & TV Database". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  5. ^ Harvey, Brian (29 December 1950). "Box Office Lessons". Birmingham Gazette. p. 4.
  6. ^ "78 Record: Jean Carson - Barrels And Barrels Of Roses (1953)" – via www.45worlds.com.
  7. ^ Vagg, Stephen (30 May 2025). "Forgotten British Studios: Group Film Productions". Filmink. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  8. ^ Wiseman, Thomas (22 November 1956). "Mr Davis Takes on Hollywood". Nottingham Evening Post. p. 9.
  9. ^ Vagg, Stephen (14 March 2025). "The Weird Non-Stardom of Tony Wright". Filmink. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  10. ^ "What's My Line? - Robert Wagner; Jeannie Carson [panel] (Feb 24, 1957)" – via www.youtube.com.
  11. ^ Vagg, Stephen (21 June 2025). "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation Films of 1958". Filmink. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Interview with William McGuire and Jeannie Carson - #2". Internet Archive. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  13. ^ Alien Registration #10 102 730. Certificate of Naturalization #8677836.
  14. ^ McGuire, Jeannie Carson – Decedent, unicourt.com. Accessed 4 June 2025.
  15. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2000). "Television". Margaret O'Brien: A Career Chronicle and Biography. McFarland & Company. p. 205. ISBN 0-7864-2155-X. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ a b c Profile, playbill.com; accessed 16 March 2022.
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