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Jean Stapleton
Acting
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…
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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".
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BODY OF WORK
Jean Stapleton's Filmography
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The Last Laugh
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Those Were the Days: The Birth of "All in the Family"
as Self
The Television Revolution Begins: "All in the Family" Is On the Air
as Self
Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes
as Irene Silverman
Pursuit of Happiness
as Lorraine
Pursuit of Happiness
as Lorrraine
Baby
as Byrd
You've Got Mail
as Birdie Conrad
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
as Mrs. Jenkins (voice)
Chance of a Lifetime
as Mrs. Dunbar
Michael
as Pansy Milbank
Lily Dale
as Mrs. Coons
Bury Me in Niagara
as Mildred
The Trial
as Landlady (uncredited)
The Habitation of Dragons
as Lenora Tolliver
Fire in the Dark
as Henry Dutton
Funny Ladies: A Portrait of Women Cartoonists
as Narrator
All in the Family: 20th Anniversary Special
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
as Mother Goose
Dead Man's Folly
as Ariadne Oliver
Cinderella
as Fairy Godmother
Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
as Self
The Buddy System
as Mrs. Price
A Matter of Sex
as Irene Wallin
Jack and the Beanstalk
as The Giantess
Something's Afoot
as Miss Tweed
Eleanor, First Lady of the World
as Eleanor Roosevelt
Isabel's Choice
as Isabel Cooper
Good Evening, Captain
as Self
Angel Dusted
as Betty Eaton
Aunt Mary
as Mary Dobkin
The Muppets Go Hollywood
as Self (uncredited)
You Can't Take it With You
as Penny Sycamore
Tail Gunner Joe
as Mrs. DeCamp
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
as Gina's Mother
Klute
as Goldfarb's Secretary
Cold Turkey
as Mrs. Wappler
Up the Down Staircase
as Sadie Finch
Something Wild
as Shirley Johnson
Bells Are Ringing
as Sue
Damn Yankees
as Sister Miller