Jean Stapleton
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1923-01-19
Day of Death
2013-05-31 (90 years old)
Place of Birth
Manhattan, New York, US
Jean Stapleton
Biography
Jean Stapleton was born Jeanne Murray in Manhattan, New York City, to Marie A. (Stapleton), an opera singer, and Joseph Edward Murray, a billboard advertising salesman. Her paternal grandparents were Irish. She was a cousin of actress Betty Jane Watson. Other relatives in show business were her uncle, Joseph E. Deming, a vaudevillian; and her brother Jack Stapleton, a stage actor. She graduated from Wadleigh High School, NYC, in 1939, and attended Hunter College. She worked as a secretary before becoming an actress. Stapleton made her stage debut at the Greenwood Playhouse, Peaks Island, Maine, in the summer of 1941, and her New York stage debut in "The Corn Is Green" (1948). She appeared on Broadway in the musicals "Damn Yankees" (1955) and "Bells Are Ringing" (1956), and later repeated her roles in the movie versions (Damn Yankees (1958) and Bells Are Ringing (1960)). Her other Broadway roles included the original companies of "Rhinoceros" (1961) and "Funny Girl" (1964). Stapleton also played Abby Brewster in the 1986-87 revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace".
Known For
Acting
(2016)
The Last Laugh
as Self
(2009)
(2009)
(2001)
Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes
as Irene Silverman
(2001)
Pursuit of Happiness
as Lorraine
(2001)
Pursuit of Happiness
as Lorrraine
(2000)
Baby
as Byrd
(1998)
You've Got Mail
as Birdie Conrad
(1998)
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
as Mrs. Jenkins (voice)
(1998)
Chance of a Lifetime
as Mrs. Dunbar
(1996)
Michael
as Pansy Milbank
(1996)
Lily Dale
as Mrs. Coons
(1993)
The Trial
as Landlady (uncredited)
(1993)
Bury Me in Niagara
as Mildred
(1992)
The Habitation of Dragons
as Lenora Tolliver
(1991)
Fire in the Dark
as Henry Dutton
(1991)
(1991)
(1990)
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
as Mother Goose
(1986)
Dead Man's Folly
as Ariadne Oliver
(1985)
(1985)
Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella
as Fairy Godmother
(1985)
Cinderella
as Fairy Godmother
(1984)
The Buddy System
as Mrs. Price
(1984)
A Matter of Sex
as Irene Wallin
(1983)
Jack and the Beanstalk
as The Giantess
(1982)
Eleanor, First Lady of the World
as Eleanor Roosevelt
(1981)
Angel Dusted
as Betty Eaton
(1981)
Isabel's Choice
as Isabel Cooper
(1981)
Good Evening Captain
as Self
(1979)
Aunt Mary
as Mary Dobkin
(1979)
The Muppets Go Hollywood
as Self
(1979)
You Can't Take it With You
as Penny Sycamore
(1977)
Tail Gunner Joe
as Mrs. DeCamp
(1973)
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
as Gina's Mother
(1971)
Klute
as Goldfarb’s Secretary
(1971)
Cold Turkey
as Mrs. Wappler
(1967)
Up the Down Staircase
as Sadie Finch
(1961)
Something Wild
as Shirley Johnson
(1960)
Bells Are Ringing
as Sue
(1958)
Damn Yankees
as Sister Miller