Caro Jones
Encyclopedia
Caro Jones was an American
actress and casting director who was responsible for casting more than 1,000 films, theater productions and television shows over the course of more than forty years, including Rocky, The Beverly Hillbillies
and Green Acres
.
. When she was 18 years old, Jones moved to New York City
and was hired as a singer by the musical
, Oklahomas touring company. She next became a casting assistant to the Theatre Guild
's main casting director. She was quickly promoted to head casting director within the Theatre Guild, and began casting for live television as well. One of Jones' first assistants was Les Moonves, who is now the president of the CBS television network.
Jones married her first husband, fellow singer Arthur Eiseman, while living in New York City. The couple had one son, Jack. Their son, Jack, became an actor and singer, appearing in the original Broadway production of Oliver!
.
production and touring company of State Fair
.
Caro Jones became involved in television very early on in the medium's history after initially beginning her casting career in theater. Jones cast for The United States Steel Hour
, a live anthology series produced by the Theatre Guild in New York which ran from 1953 to 1963 on ABC
and CBS
, where she cast such notable actors as Patty Duke
, Sidney Pollack, Gene Hackman
, William Shatner
, Burgess Meredith
, Johnny Carson
, Martin Sheen
and George C. Scott
.
to continue her career in television, and later film. She was soon hired to oversee casting for Paramount Television
, where she cast for series including Paper Moon
, Love, American Style
, Mannix
and the pilot episode of the Robin Hood: Men in Tights
television series with Mel Brooks
. (The pilot later became a 1993 Brooks film).
, The Beverly Hillbillies
, Green Acres
and The Debbie Reynolds Show
. She also cast for the films What's the Matter with Helen?
and Fuzz
for Filmways. She met and married her second husband, Al Simon, a producer
for Filmways Television, while working for the company. She remained at Filmways for five years.
. Jones had previously collaborated with Avildsen for his 1973 film, Save the Tiger
, starring Jack Lemmon
. Rocky would win the Academy Award for best picture as well as for best director.
Jones' notable film credits under her own company included The Karate Kid in 1984 and Back to School in 1986. Jones' other miniseries
credits included The Martian Chronicles
, which starred Rock Hudson
in 1980, and the 1981 miniseries, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, which starred Jaclyn Smith
as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
.
for her professional work. She was also awarded the Hoyt Bowers Award in 1994 by the Casting Society of America as well.
A collection of her production notebooks and scripts
, called the Caro Jones Collection of Scripts and Production Notebooks, is presently housed at the Margaret Herrick Library of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills.
She was a founding member of both the Casting Society of America and Women in Film. Jones was a former Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild
, Actor's Equity and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
.
in Los Angeles at the age of 86 after a fourteen year battle with the disease. She was survived by two grandchildren, Jacqueline and Chase Eiseman, her brother, William Jones and two nieces, Caro Norris and Penelope Swanson. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and casting director who was responsible for casting more than 1,000 films, theater productions and television shows over the course of more than forty years, including Rocky, The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
and Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
.
Early life and career
Jones was born in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. When she was 18 years old, Jones moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and was hired as a singer by the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, Oklahomas touring company. She next became a casting assistant to the Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
's main casting director. She was quickly promoted to head casting director within the Theatre Guild, and began casting for live television as well. One of Jones' first assistants was Les Moonves, who is now the president of the CBS television network.
Jones married her first husband, fellow singer Arthur Eiseman, while living in New York City. The couple had one son, Jack. Their son, Jack, became an actor and singer, appearing in the original Broadway production of Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
.
Television and film
Despite her move to television and film later in her career, Jones remained involved with the Theatre Guild in New York City. Her last major job with the Guild involved casting for the 1996 BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production and touring company of State Fair
State Fair (musical)
State Fair is a musical with a book by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and music by Richard Rodgers.Rodgers and Hammerstein originally adapted the Phil Stong novel of the same name for a 1945 movie musical, which was remade in 1962...
.
Caro Jones became involved in television very early on in the medium's history after initially beginning her casting career in theater. Jones cast for The United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation....
, a live anthology series produced by the Theatre Guild in New York which ran from 1953 to 1963 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, where she cast such notable actors as Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
, Sidney Pollack, Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
, Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
and George C. Scott
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
.
Paramount
Jones relocated to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to continue her career in television, and later film. She was soon hired to oversee casting for Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
, where she cast for series including Paper Moon
Paper Moon (TV series)
Paper Moon is a short-lived situation comedy which aired on ABC during the fall of 1974, starring Christopher Connelly and Jodie Foster in the roles of Moses Pray and his presumed daughter, Addie...
, Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
, Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
and the pilot episode of the Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a 1993 French-American adventure comedy film and a parody of the Robin Hood story. Produced and directed by Mel Brooks, the film stars Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, and Dave Chappelle in his film debut...
television series with Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
. (The pilot later became a 1993 Brooks film).
Filmways Television
Jones left Paramount and took a position as a casting director with Filmways Television. There she was in charge of casting for the television series Petticoat JunctionPetticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
, The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
and The Debbie Reynolds Show
The Debbie Reynolds Show
The Debbie Reynolds Show is an American situation comedy which aired on the NBC television network during the 1969-70 television season. The series was produced by Filmways, but the distribution rights are currently owned by Universal Media Studios through its ownership of NBC Productions...
. She also cast for the films What's the Matter with Helen?
What's the Matter with Helen?
What's the Matter With Helen? is a 1971 thriller film starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters.-Plot:The movie starts with a Hearst Metrotone newsreel from the 1930s that tells of the Iowa murder of Ellie Banner by Leonard Hill and Wesley Bruckner...
and Fuzz
Fuzz (film)
Fuzz is a 1972 American action comedy film directed by Richard A. Colla and starring Burt Reynolds, Yul Brynner, Raquel Welch, Tom Skeritt, and Jack Weston. The screenplay was written by Evan Hunter, based on the 1968 novel of the same name that was part of the "87th Precinct" series he wrote under...
for Filmways. She met and married her second husband, Al Simon, a producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
for Filmways Television, while working for the company. She remained at Filmways for five years.
Independent casting
Upon her departure from Filmways Television after five years, Jones launched her own casting agency. Her first casting job under the banner of her own company was for the 1976 John Avildsen film, Rocky, which starred Sylvester StalloneSylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
. Jones had previously collaborated with Avildsen for his 1973 film, Save the Tiger
Save the Tiger
Save the Tiger is a 1973 film about moral conflict in contemporary America. It stars Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman, Thayer David, Lara Parker and Liv Lindeland. The film is directed by John G...
, starring Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
. Rocky would win the Academy Award for best picture as well as for best director.
Jones' notable film credits under her own company included The Karate Kid in 1984 and Back to School in 1986. Jones' other miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
credits included The Martian Chronicles
The Martian Chronicles
The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists...
, which starred Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
in 1980, and the 1981 miniseries, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, which starred Jaclyn Smith
Jaclyn Smith
Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best-known for the role of Kelly Garrett in the television series Charlie's Angels, and was the only original female lead to remain with the series for its complete run...
as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
.
Awards and professional organizations
Caro Jones was honored with the Artios Award from the Casting Society of AmericaCasting Society of America
Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1982, the Casting Society of America is a professional society of about 350 casting directors for film, television, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The society is not to be confused with an industry union. The...
for her professional work. She was also awarded the Hoyt Bowers Award in 1994 by the Casting Society of America as well.
A collection of her production notebooks and scripts
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, called the Caro Jones Collection of Scripts and Production Notebooks, is presently housed at the Margaret Herrick Library of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills.
She was a founding member of both the Casting Society of America and Women in Film. Jones was a former Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was founded in 1946, just one month after network television was born. It is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of telecommunications arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the telecommunications industry...
and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
, Actor's Equity and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a performers' union that represents a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, as well as radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists , promo and voice-over announcers and other...
.
Death
Caro Jones died on September 3, 2009, of multiple myelomaMultiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
in Los Angeles at the age of 86 after a fourteen year battle with the disease. She was survived by two grandchildren, Jacqueline and Chase Eiseman, her brother, William Jones and two nieces, Caro Norris and Penelope Swanson. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
.