Jean Muir (actress)
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Jean Muir | |
|---|---|
 Warner Bros. publicity portrait of Muir | |
| Born | Jean Muir Fullarton February 13, 1911 Suffern, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 23, 1996 (aged 85) Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
| Years active | 1930–1968 |
| Spouse | Henry Jaffe (m. 1940; div. 1960) |
| Children | 3, including Michael Jaffe[1] |
Jean Muir (born Jean Muir Fullarton; February 13, 1911 – July 23, 1996) was an American stage and film actress and educator. She was the first performer to be blacklisted after her name appeared in the anti-Communist 1950 pamphlet Red Channels.
Early years[edit]
An only child, Muir was born in Suffern, New York, as Jean Muir Fullarton; her father was a certified public accountant, and her mother was a substitute teacher.[2] She attended the Dwight School in Englewood, New Jersey.[3]
Career[edit]
Muir's Broadway debut came in The Truth Game (1930) at age 19.[4] She was a model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency in New York during the early 1930s.[5] She was signed by Warner Bros. in 1933[6] and made 14 films in her first three years there.[7] She played opposite several famous actors including Warren William, Paul Muni, Richard Barthelmess and Franchot Tone, but she returned to Broadway in 1937 because she was unsatisfied with the roles. She appeared occasionally in films through 1943. She was also one of the candidates for the role of Melanie in Gone with the Wind.[8]
Muir incurred the disfavor of studio executives because of her involvement in formation of the Screen Actors Guild,[further explanation needed] her tendency to question the way the film business operated, and her resistance to posing for publicity photographs.[7]
Blacklist[edit]
In 1950 Muir was named as a Communist sympathizer by the notorious pamphlet Red Channels, and immediately removed from the cast of the television sitcom The Aldrich Family, in which she had been cast as Mrs. Aldrich.[9] NBC had received between 20 and 30 phone calls protesting her being in the show. General Foods, the sponsor, said that it would not sponsor programs in which "controversial persons" were featured. Though the company later received thousands of calls protesting the decision, it was not reversed.
Muir was the first performer to be deprived of employment because of a listing in Red Channels.[10] The apparent cause of the accusation was her six-month membership in the Congress of American Women, which federal authorities considered a subversive group.[9]
Later years[edit]
Muir resumed acting in 1958, appearing in an episode of Matinee Theater on NBC-TV.[9]
After teaching drama and directing plays at two community centers in New York, Muir moved to Missouri in 1968 and became the Master Acting Teacher at Stephens College, in addition to directing several productions there. She also completed her college degree at Stephens in 1977. Reaching Stephens' mandatory retirement age forced her to stop teaching there, and in 1981 she had a one-year appointment to teach at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.[11]
Personal life[edit]
On December 20, 1940, Muir married entertainment attorney, and later television producer, Henry Jaffe in New York.[12][13] They had three children.[7] In the mid-1950s she reportedly suffered from alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver.[2]
Death[edit]
Muir died in a nursing home in Mesa, Arizona, on July 23, 1996, at the age of 85.[9]
Recognition[edit]
Muir has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6280 Hollywood Blvd.[14]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Bureau of Missing Persons | Louise Kane | Uncredited |
| 1933 | Female | Miss Joyce | Uncredited |
| 1933 | The World Changes | Selma Peterson, her granddaughter Selma | |
| 1933 | Son of a Sailor | Helen Farnsworth | |
| 1934 | Bedside | Caroline Grant | |
| 1934 | As the Earth Turns | Jen Shaw | |
| 1934 | A Modern Hero | Joanna Ryan Croy | |
| 1934 | Dr. Monica | Mary Hathaway | |
| 1934 | Desirable | Lois Johnson | |
| 1934 | Gentlemen are Born | Trudy Talbot | |
| 1935 | The White Cockatoo | Sue Talley | |
| 1935 | Oil for the Lamps of China | Alice | |
| 1935 | Orchids to You | Camillia Rand | |
| 1935 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Helena | |
| 1935 | Stars Over Broadway | Nora Wyman | |
| 1936 | Faithful | Marilyn Koster | Warner Bros.-First National Teddington; lost film |
| 1936 | White Fang | Sylvia Burgess | |
| 1936 | Fugitive in the Sky | Rita Moore | |
| 1937 | Once a Doctor | Paula Nordland | |
| 1937 | Her Husband's Secretary | Carol Blane Kingdon | |
| 1937 | The Outcasts of Poker Flat | Miss Helen Colby | |
| 1937 | Draegerman Courage | Ellen Haslett | |
| 1937 | Dance Charlie Dance | Mary Mathews | |
| 1937 | White Bondage | Betsy Ann Craig | |
| 1938 | Jane Steps Out | Beatrice Wilton | |
| 1940 | And One Was Beautiful | Helen Lattimer | |
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | Joan Bradley | |
| 1943 | The Constant Nymph | Kate Sanger |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Starring Boris Karloff | "False Face" | |
| 1949 | Actors Studio | "A Child Is Born" | Clarissa |
| 1950 | The Philco Television Playhouse | "The Sudden Guest" | |
| 1958 | Matinee Theater | "The Story of Marcia Gordon" | |
| 1959 | Naked City | "Hey, Teach!" | Mrs. Kling |
| 1961 | Route 66 | "A Bridge Across Five Days" | Beatrice Ware |
| 1962 | Naked City | "The One Marked Hot Gives Cold" | Mrs. Lund |
References[edit]
- ^ Grimes, William (25 July 1996). "Jean Muir, Actress Penalized By 50's Blacklist, Dies at 85". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Vosburgh, Dick, Obituary: Jean Muir. The Independent, August 2, 1996. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ^ "Jean Muir Nearly Starves Before Leaping to Fame". The Mason City Globe-Gazette. Iowa, Mason City. April 12, 1934. p. 22. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "("Jean Muir" search results)". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Model' Girls Are Always Very Much in Demand". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). August 12, 1934. p. 55.
- ^ "Jean Muir's Absence from Screen Is Noted". Detroit Free Press. Michigan, Detroit. July 5, 1936. p. 77. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Bergan, Ronald (August 6, 1996). "Rebel without the roles". The Guardian. England, London. p. 14. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pratt, William. Scarlett fever: the ultimate pictorial treasury of Gone with the wind : featuring the collection of Herb Bridges, Macmillan, 1977, p.68
- ^ a b c d Oliver, Myrna (July 26, 1996). "Jean Muir; Actress Blacklisted in 1950s". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. A24. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Brown, Jared (1989). Zero Mostel: A Biography. New York: Atheneum. p. 89. ISBN 978-0689119552.
- ^ Bryant, Tim (January 14, 1981). "Jean Muir Finds Second Career". The Republic. Indiana, Columbus. United Press International. p. B-1. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jean Muir, Film Actress, Marries". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. December 22, 1940. p. 1. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Henry Jaffe Is Dead; TV Producer Was 85". The New York Times. 1992-09-30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ Jean Muir, Hollywood Star Walk Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
External links[edit]
- Jean Muir at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jean Muir at IMDb
- Jean Muir at AllMovie
- Jean Muir at Virtual history
- Jean Muir Papers at the University of Oregon Libraries [1]
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