Jean Willes
Encyclopedia
Jean Willes was an American film actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films between 1934
and 1972
.
short subjects, such as Monkey Businessmen
, A Snitch in Time
and Gypped in the Penthouse
. She was a favorite of director Edward Bernds
, who cast her in many shorts and features. She was cast from an Air Force Captain to prostitutes. Willes also appeared on several popular television shows in the 1960s and 1970s, such as The Twilight Zone
, Bonanza
, Meet McGraw
with Frank Lovejoy
, The Munsters
, Perry Mason
, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bat Masterson
, The Beverly Hillbillies
and Kojak
. She portrayed Belle Starr
opposite James Garner
in a 1959 episode of Maverick
in which Joel Grey
played Billy the Kid
.
In 1947, she changed her billing to her married name, Jean Willes.
Willes died of liver cancer
on January 3, 1989.
1934 in film
-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
and 1972
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
.
Career
Willes is familiar to modern viewers for her roles in several Three StoogesThree Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
short subjects, such as Monkey Businessmen
Monkey Businessmen
Monkey Businessmen is the 92nd short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
, A Snitch in Time
A Snitch in Time
A Snitch in Time is the 128th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
and Gypped in the Penthouse
Gypped in the Penthouse
Gypped in the Penthouse is the 161st short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
. She was a favorite of director Edward Bernds
Edward Bernds
Edward Bernds was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois.-Career:While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur licenses...
, who cast her in many shorts and features. She was cast from an Air Force Captain to prostitutes. Willes also appeared on several popular television shows in the 1960s and 1970s, such as The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Meet McGraw
Meet McGraw
Meet McGraw is an American dramatic television series starring Frank Lovejoy in the role of the hard-hitting detective McGraw, a man specifically given no first name in the program. Forty-one half-hour episodes aired on NBC during the 1957-1958 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was...
with Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
, The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bat Masterson
Bat Masterson (TV series)
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...
, 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 Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
. She portrayed Belle Starr
Belle Starr
Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr , better known as Belle Starr, was a notorious American outlaw.-Early life:...
opposite James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
in a 1959 episode of Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
in which Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
played Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
.
In 1947, she changed her billing to her married name, Jean Willes.
Willes died of liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
on January 3, 1989.
Personal
Willes's second husband was NFL football player Gerard Cowhig. They had one son, Gerry.Selected filmography
- Ocean's ElevenOcean's ElevenOcean's Eleven may refer to:*Ocean's 11 , the original heist film starring all five members of the Rat Pack*Ocean's Eleven , a remake of the above film with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon...
(1960) - The FBI StoryThe FBI StoryThe FBI Story is a 1959 American drama film produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Richard L. Breen and John Twist is based on a book by Don Whitehead.-Plot:...
(1959) as Anna SageAna CumpanasAna Cumpănaş or Anna Sage, nicknamed Woman in Red , was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian prostitute and brothel owner in the American cities of Chicago and Gary... - No Time for SergeantsNo Time for SergeantsNo Time for Sergeants is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on The United States Steel Hour, a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronicles the misadventures of a country bumpkin named Will...
(1958) - The King and Four QueensThe King and Four QueensThe King and Four Queens , a western movie, involves a middle-aged cowboy adventurer who learns that a stolen fortune remains buried on a ranch that serves as home to four gorgeous young widows and their battle-axe mother-in-law: the drifter turns on the charm. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the film...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - Gypped in the PenthouseGypped in the PenthouseGypped in the Penthouse is the 161st short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - Don't Throw That KnifeDon't Throw That Knife"Don't Throw That Knife" is the 131st short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Hula-La-LaHula-La-LaHula-La-La is the 135th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
(1951) - A Snitch in TimeA Snitch in TimeA Snitch in Time is the 128th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - Monkey BusinessmenMonkey BusinessmenMonkey Businessmen is the 92nd short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
(19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
)