Personal Info
Birth date
1921-07-10 (103 Years)
Day of death
1988-04-11
Gender
Female
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
Windham, Maine, USA
Also known as
Jean Marie Donnell
Jeff Donnell
Biography
Jeff Donnell was an American film and television actress. Born Jean Marie Donnell, she grew up in South Windham, Maine. As a child, she adopted the nickname "Jeff" after the character in her favorite comic strip, Mutt and Jeff. Donnell graduated from Towson High School, Towson, Maryland, in 1938 and attended the Leland Powers School of Drama in Boston, Massachusetts. Later, she studied at the Yale School of Drama. She was signed to a contract by Columbia Pictures in 1942 and made her film debut in My Sister Eileen. She later had roles in some RKO films. She was not a major star, but she did have a lengthy film and television career in various supporting roles, including the role of Gidget's mother, "Dorothy Lawrence", opposite Carl Reiner in the 1961 movie Gidget Goes Hawaiian. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jeff Donnell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
7.4
Overview:
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.Matinee Theater
5
Overview:
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets. Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled: When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is his own set decorator —yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.Love, American Style
6.056
Overview:
An anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.Perry Mason
7.7
Overview:
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.Marcus Welby, M.D.
6.5
Overview:
Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner and James Brolin as the younger doctor he often worked with, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell. The pilot, A Matter of Humanities, had aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on March 26, 1969.Medical Center
6.1
Overview:
Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976. It was produced by MGM Television.Dr. Kildare
5.5
Overview:
The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession, deal with the problems of his patients, and win the respect of the senior doctor in his specialty, internal medicine.The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
6
Overview:
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.Climax!
3.273
Overview:
Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.The F.B.I.
5.5
Overview:
The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and the characters almost always drove Ford vehicles in the series. Alcoa was co-sponsor of Season One only.The Mothers-in-Law
5.8
Overview:
The Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969. Produced by Desi Arnaz, the series was created by Bob Carroll, Jr., and Madelyn Davis.The Ford Television Theatre
7.333
Overview:
This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to Hollywood, California, where Hollywood actors and actresses headed the cast.Cannon
6.5
Overview:
Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976. The primary protagonist is the title character, private detective Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad. He also appeared on two episodes of Barnaby Jones. Cannon is the first Quinn Martin-produced series to be aired on a network other than ABC. A "revival" television film, The Return of Frank Cannon, was aired on November 1, 1980. In total, there were 124 episodes.Barnaby Jones
6.9
Overview:
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. The show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement. William Conrad guest starred as Frank Cannon of Cannon on the first episode of Barnaby Jones, "Requiem for a Son" and the two series had a two-part crossover episode in 1975, "The Deadly Conspiracy".The Bob Newhart Show
7.5
Overview:
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers. The show was filmed before a live audience.The Addams Family
8
Overview:
A satirical inversion of the ideal of the perfect American nuclear family, they are an eccentric wealthy family who delight in everything grotesque and macabre, and are never really aware that people find them bizarre or frightening. In fact, they themselves are often terrified by "normal" people.Daniel Boone
6.9
Overview:
Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Cherokee friend, for the first four seasons of the series. Albert Salmi portrayed Boone's companion Yadkin in season one only. Dallas McKennon portrayed innkeeper Cincinnatus. Country Western singer-actor Jimmy Dean was a featured actor as Josh Clements during the 1968–1970 seasons. Actor and former NFL football player Rosey Grier made regular appearances as Gabe Cooper in the 1969 to 1970 season. The show was broadcast "in living color" beginning in fall 1965, the second season, and was shot entirely in California and Kanab, Utah.The DuPont Show with June Allyson
6.3
Overview:
The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961. The series was hosted by actress June Allyson.Racket Squad
6
Overview:
Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department. The show aired in syndication for a season before being picked up by CBS for three seasons. The series was filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, hence there was a pack of the sponsor's brand on Braddock's desk at the beginning and end of the episode, as well as occasional scenes of him or other characters "lighting up".Emergency!
7.8
Overview:
The crew of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51, particularly the paramedic team, and Rampart Hospital respond to emergencies in their operating area.Mister Ed
6.8
Overview:
Wilbur Post and his wife Carol move into a beautiful new home. When Wilbur takes a look in his new barn, he finds that the former owner left his horse behind. This horse is no ordinary horse . . . he can talk, but only to Wilbur, which leads to all sorts of misadventures for Wilbur and his trouble-making sidekick Mister Ed.Adam-12
7
Overview:
Adam-12 is a television police drama that followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12.Police Story
6.9
Overview:
Police Story is an anthology television crime drama. The show was the brainchild of author and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh and represented a major step forward in the realistic depiction of police work and violence on network TV. Although it was an anthology, there were certain things that all episodes had in common; for instance, the main character in each episode was a police officer. The setting was always Los Angeles and the characters always worked for some branch of the LAPD. Notwithstanding the anthology format, there were recurring characters. Scott Brady appeared in more than a dozen episodes as "Vinnie," a former cop who, upon retirement, had opened a bar catering to police officers, and who acted as a sort of Greek chorus during the run of the series, commenting on the characters and plots.The George Gobel Show
7.333
Overview:
The George Gobel Show is an American television series hosted George Gobel that aired on NBC from 1954 to 1960.Studio 57
NYR
Overview:
Studio 57 is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to September 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1956.The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
4
Overview:
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors is an American medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.The Wonderful World of Disney
7.774
Overview:
Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The show, which was hosted by Walt Disney until his death and then from 1996 to 2002 by then-CEO Michael Eisner (with one-off hosts or no hosts during other periods) has since aired continually as either a weekly program or an irregular series of specials on several networks and streaming services, most recently on ABC and Disney+. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.Felony Squad
6.4
Overview:
Twenty-year veteran Detective Sergeant Sam Stone is paired with rookie Briggs in a large Western metropolis.Cavalcade of America
3.5
Overview:
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.Acting
1979Portrait of a Stripper as Edith Sterling
1979Rendezvous Hotel as Mrs. Williams
1979Murder by Natural Causes as Mrs. Mathews
1977Spider-Man as Aunt May Parker
1976Gibbsville (1 Episode) as Unknown
1975Matt Helm (7 Episodes) as Ethel
1974Paper Moon (1 Episode) as Mrs. Carson
1973The Girl with Something Extra (1 Episode) as Unknown
1973A Gift of Terror as Mrs. Cummings
1973Police Story (2 Episodes) as Unknown
1973Barnaby Jones (1 Episode) as Janet Gossett
1973Here We Go Again (1 Episode) as Aunt Patti
1972The Bob Newhart Show (1 Episode) as Clara Hackler
1972Stand Up and Be Counted as Ruth
1972Emergency! (1 Episode) as Katie
1972Me and the Chimp (1 Episode) as Unknown
1971Congratulations, It's a Boy! as Rose
1971Cannon (1 Episode) as Unknown
1971Love Hate Love as Mary Blunden
1970The Partridge Family (1 Episode) as Mrs. Monahan
1970Tora! Tora! Tora! as Cornelia
1970Nanny and the Professor (1 Episode) as Mrs. Winslow (uncredited)
1969The Comic as Nurse
1969Love, American Style (1, 1 Episode) as Mrs. Hutton, Mrs. Gellar
1969Medical Center (1 Episode) as Mrs. Hersey
1969Marcus Welby, M.D. (1 Episode) as Cleaning Woman
1969The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1 Episode) as Nurse Klein
1968Adam-12 (1 Episode) as Mrs. James Nelson
1967The Mothers-in-Law (1 Episode) as Elaine
1966Felony Squad (1 Episode) as Unknown
1965The F.B.I. (1, 1 Episode) as Rooming House Manager, Mrs. Kraft
1965Gidget (1 Episode) as Unknown
1964Daniel Boone (1 Episode) as Varna Montgomery
1964The Addams Family (1 Episode) as Eleanor Digby
1964Bristle Face as Mrs. Jarkey
1963Gidget Goes to Rome as Mrs. Lawrence
1963The Iron Maiden as Miriam Fisher
1962The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (2 Episodes) as Self
1961Force of Impulse as Louise Reese
1961Dr. Kildare (5 Episodes) as Evelyn Driscoll
1961Gidget Goes Hawaiian as Dorothy Lawrence
1961Mister Ed (1 Episode) as Martha Harper
1959The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1 Episode) as Millie Moon
1957My Man Godfrey as Molly
1957Perry Mason (1, 1 Episode) as Sylvia Dykes, Rose Carol
1957Sweet Smell of Success as Sally
1957Destination 60,000 as Ruth Buckley
1957The Guns of Fort Petticoat as Mary Wheller
1956The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1 Episode) as Self
1956Magnificent Roughnecks as Julie
1955Matinee Theater (1 Episode) as Unknown
1954The Wonderful World of Disney (2 Episodes) as Mrs. Jarkey
1954Climax! (1 Episode) as Kay Matheson
1954The George Gobel Show (66 Episodes) as Self
1954Studio 57 (1 Episode) as Unknown
1954Massacre Canyon as Cora
1953Flight Nurse as Lt. Ann Phillips
1953So This Is Love as Henrietta Van Dyke
1953The Blue Gardenia as Sally Ellis
1952Omnibus (1 Episode) as Helen
1952The Ford Television Theatre (1 Episode) as Doris
1952Because You're Mine as Patty Ware
1952Cavalcade of America (1 Episode) as Ann Rutledge
1952Skirts Ahoy! as Giff
1952Thief of Damascus as Sheherazade
1952The First Time as Donna Gilbert
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame (1 Episode) as Unknown
1951Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1, 1 Episode) as Pug, Marlene
1951Racket Squad (1 Episode) as Unknown
1951Three Guys Named Mike as Alice Raymend
1950Walk Softly, Stranger as Gwen
1950Redwood Forest Trail as Julie Wescott
1950The Fuller Brush Girl as Jane Bixby
1950Big Timber as Sally
1950Hoedown as Vera Wright
1950In a Lonely Place as Sylvia Nicolai
1949Easy Living as Penny McCarr
1949Post Office Investigator as April Shaughnessy
1949Outcasts of the Trail as Vinnie White
1949Stagecoach Kid as Jessie Arnold
1949Roughshod as Elaine Wyatt
1947Mr. District Attorney as Miss Miller
1946It's Great to Be Young as Georgia Johnson
1946Singing on the Trail as Cindy Brown
1946Cowboy Blues as Susan Nelson
1946The Unknown as Nina Arnold
1946That Texas Jamboree as Jean Warren
1946The Phantom Thief as Anne Parks Duncan
1946Night Editor as Martha Cochrane
1946Throw a Saddle on a Star as Judy Lane
1946Tars and Spars as Peggy McDougal
1945Song of the Prairie as Penelope 'Penny' Stevens
1945Over 21 as Jan Lupton
1945A Thousand and One Nights as Harem Girl
1945The Power of the Whistler as Frances 'Francie' Lane
1945Eadie Was a Lady as Pamela 'Pepper' Parker
1944Carolina Blues as Charlotte Barton
1944Dancing in Manhattan as Julie Connors
19443 Is a Family as Hazel Whittaker
1944She's a Soldier Too as Mary Fleming (uncredited)
1944Stars on Parade as Mary Brooks
1944Nine Girls as "Butch" Hendricks
1943There's Something About a Soldier as Jean Burton
1943Doughboys in Ireland as Molly Callahan
1942A Night to Remember as Anne Carstairs
1942The Boogie Man Will Get You as Winnie Slade
1942My Sister Eileen as Helen Loomis