March 31: Happy Birthday Shirley Jones

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Shirley Jones, who turns 83 today, was largely known for playing wholesome characters in musicals like Oklahoma! or The Music Man, a characterization that carried over to her TV role on The Partridge Family. But she was also an Oscar-winner as the vengeance-seeking prostitute Lulu Baines in Elmer Gantry.

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March 31: Happy Birthday Shirley Jones

Shirley Jones, who turns 88 today, is pictured above with Patrick Cassidy, her second son from her marriage to stage actor Jack Cassidy. The two were about to embark on a tour where they starred in a concert version of The Music Man.

Jones grew up in Pennsylvania, and was active in school theatrical productions. In the early fifties, she had an audition with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s casting director. As a result, she made her Broadway debut, joining the cast of South Pacific as one of the nurses. She then made her feature film debut, starring in the feature film of Oklahoma! as Laurey Williams.

For a few years, Jones worked primarily in musicals. She starred as Julie Jordan in the feature adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel, and in the musicals April Love and Never Steal Anything Small. In 1960, she landed a very different role, as Lulu Bains in Elmer Gantry. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.



Jones went on to star as Marian Paroo in the film of The Music Man. She remained an active leading lady for several years, starring in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The Secret of My Success, and The Cheyenne Social Club. She and Jack Cassidy, who by this time had been married for over a decade, starred on Broadway together in the musical Maggie Flynn.

In 1970, Jones and her stepson David Cassidy began starring on ABC’s The Partridge Family, about a widowed mother who forms a pop band with her five children. The series was successful in its first three seasons, but a season 4 ratings decline led ABC to cancel it in 1974.

There were also several Partridge Family albums. For recording purposes, the “Partridge Family” was Cassidy as lead singer joined by a group of studio musicians. Jones was one of the backing vocalists, but none of the other cast members participated.

Jones had been warned that taking a television role would sink her feature film career. And after the mid-seventies, she did find that film roles were relatively few, although she did star with James Garner in Tank. She found plenty to keep her busy, though, including a long list of TV guest appearances, and several regional and touring musical theater productions.