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Jean Willes

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Jean Donahue
Willes in 1960
Born
Jean Willes[citation needed]

(1923-04-15)April 15, 1923
Los Angeles, California,U.S.
DiedJanuary 3, 1989(1989-01-03)(aged 65)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active1934–1972
Spouse
​
​
(m.1951)​
Children1

Jean Donahue(bornJean Willes;April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989)[1]was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career.

Early years[edit]

Born Jean Willes[2]in Los Angeles to William Simmons Willes and Velma Harrington Duncan Willes, she spent part of her childhood in Seattle and part in Salt Lake City. After she and her parents returned to Los Angeles, she began acting with alittle theater groupthere.[3]

Career[edit]

Willes began using her married name for billing in 1947.[2]Her first film wasThe Winner's Circle(1948).[3]

Willes is familiar to modern viewers for her roles in severalThree Stoogesshort subjects,such asMonkey Businessmenas well asA Snitch in Time,Don't Throw That KnifeandGypped in the Penthouse.She was a favorite of directorEdward Bernds,who cast her in many shorts and features.[citation needed]She played roles ranging from an Air Force captain to prostitutes. She was one of the "four queens" pursuingClark GableinThe King and Four Queens(1956). Later that year she appeared as Nurse Sally Withers in the original movie version ofInvasion of the Body Snatchers.

She made the transition to television, debuting in an episode ofBoston Blackie.[4]She appeared in dozens of series in varied roles and genres such as Westerns andanthology series;Crossroads;The Californians;Richard Diamond, Private DetectivewithDavid Janssen;several episodes of theBurns and Allentelevision series titledThe George Burns and Gracie Allen Show;in the 1956 television showThe Great Gildersleeveas the scheming girlfriend Eva Jane in the episode "One Too Many Secretaries";The Twilight Zone( "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?"); four episodes ofBonanzabetween 1959 and 1968;Hazel;Trackdown( "The Bounty Hunter" withRobert CulpandSteve McQueen);The Munsters;Perry Mason;The Alfred Hitchcock Hour;Bat MastersonwithGene Barry;The Beverly HillbillieswithBuddy Ebsen;McHale's NavywithErnest Borgnine;Tombstone Territory;Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre;Walt Disney'sZorrowithGuy Williams;andKojakwithTelly Savalas.[citation needed]

In 1958, in the episode "Queen of the Cimarron" of thesyndicatedwestern television seriesFrontier Doctor,starringRex Allen,Willes portrayed Fancy Varden, the owner of the Golden Slipper Saloon who attempts to establish her own cattle empire with animals infected withanthrax.

Willes portrayedBelle Starrin a1959 episodeof theABC/Warner BrothersWestern seriesMaverickentitled "Full House," in whichJoel GreyplayedBilly the KidandJames Garnerperformed a bravura pistol-twirling exhibition woven into the plot. In the same year for Warners she playedAnna SageinThe FBI Story.Willes played the character Ruth in theWanted: Dead or Aliveepisode, "The Eager Man", Manila Jones in "The Montana Kid", and Meghan Francis in "The Kovack Affair".

Willes played Amelia Monk in the 1967 episode, "Siege at Amelia's Kitchen", on thesyndicatedanthology series,Death Valley Dayshosted byRobert Taylor.

Personal[edit]

Willes's second husband wasNFLfootball playerGerard Cowhig.The couple had one son, Gerry.[5]

WithGene BarryandAdele Mara(1958)

Death[edit]

Willes died ofliver cancerinVan Nuys, Californiaon January 3, 1989. She was 65 years of age.[6]She is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.[7]

Selected filmography[edit]

Willes andDennis Morgan(1955)
Willes andJames Garner(1960)
Willes inOcean's 11(1960)

References[edit]

  1. ^"Jean W. Cowhig".Social Security Death Index.New England Historic Genealogical Society.RetrievedSeptember 11,2011.
  2. ^abRoom, Adrian (January 10, 2014).Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed.McFarland. p. 510.ISBN978-0-7864-5763-2.RetrievedSeptember 21,2022.
  3. ^abHumphrey, Hal (August 10, 1959)."Widely Recognized But Little Known Is Jean Willes".The Pittsburgh Press.p. 30.RetrievedSeptember 21,2022– viaNewspapers.com.
  4. ^Humphrey, Hal (July 31, 1959)."Jean Willes, TV Belle".St. Louis Globe-Democrat.p. 36.RetrievedSeptember 21,2022– viaNewspapers.com.
  5. ^Magers, Boyd."Characters and Heavies | Jean Willes".www.westernclippings.com.
  6. ^"Jean Willes".The New York Times.Associated Press.January 9, 1989. p. D 10.ProQuest110244186.RetrievedJanuary 23,2021– viaProQuest.
  7. ^Wilson, Scott (2016).Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.McFarland. p. 810.ISBN978-0-7864-7992-4.RetrievedMarch 18,2022.

External links[edit]

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