Jo Anne Worley
Encyclopedia
Jo Anne Worley is an American actress. Her work covers television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s, theater, game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

s, talk shows, commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

s, and cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

s. She is best known for her work on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...

.

Biography

Worley was born in Lowell, Indiana
Lowell, Indiana
-Demographics:At the 2000 census, there were 7,505 people, 2,697 households and 2,030 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,839.2 per square mile . There were 2,809 housing units at an average density of 688.4 per square mile...

, the third of five children. In 1962, her father remarried and his second union gave her two half-brothers and two half-sisters. Always remembered for her loud voice, Worley once said that when she attended church as a little girl, she never sang the hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

s but would only lip-synch them for fear that she would drown out everyone else. Before graduating from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, she was named School Comedienne.

After graduating from high school in 1955, Worley moved to Blauvelt, New York
Blauvelt, New York
Blauvelt is a hamlet , formerly known as Greenbush and then Blauveltville, in the Town of Orangetown Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Tappan; east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River; south of Central Nyack and west of Orangeburg...

, where she began her professional career as a member of the Pickwick Players. This led to a drama scholarship to Midwestern State University
Midwestern State University
Midwestern State University is a public liberal arts college in Wichita Falls, Texas, and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges...

 in Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...

.

After studying at Midwestern for two years, she moved to Los Angeles
Los 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 study at Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...

 and the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...

. She was soon given her first musical role in a production of Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...

. In 1961, she received her first major break when she appeared in the musical revue Billy Barnes People
Billy Barnes (composer)
Billy Barnes is a composer and lyricist from Los Angeles, California. His hit songs include " Too Long at the Fair" recorded by Barbra Streisand , and "Something Cool", recorded by jazz vocalist June Christy...

 in Los Angeles; this production moved to Broadway
Broadway 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...

, where it ran for only six performances. However, the New York Times reviewer wrote: "Jo Anne Worley has an earthy style that suggests she could be a rowdy commedienne." In 1964, Worley was selected to appear as a stand-in on the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....

 One year later, she created her own nightclub act in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...

, where she was discovered by Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...

 in 1966.

Impressed by Worley's talents, Griffin engaged her to be one of his primary guest stars on his show, where she made approximately 40 appearances on The Merv Griffin Show.
In 1966 she appeared Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 in The Mad Show
The Mad Show
The Mad Show is an Off-Broadway musical revue based on Mad Magazine. The music is by Mary Rodgers, the book by Larry Siegel and Stan Hart. The show's various lyricists include Siegel, Marshall Barer, Steven Vinaver, and Stephen Sondheim.-Production:...

, a musical revue based on Mad Magazine. In 1967, her stint on Griffin's show led to her discovery by George Schlatter
George Schlatter
George Schlatter is an American television producer and director, best known for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and founder of the American Comedy Awards....

, who soon cast her in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...

.

In 1970, she left Laugh-In to pursue other projects and has made guest appearances on several TV shows, including Hot Dog
Hot Dog (TV series)
Hot Dog was a Saturday morning documentary series for children, seen on NBC from September 12, 1970 to September 4, 1971. Created by Frank Buxton and co-produced by Buxton and Lee Mendelson, the program was notable for its hosts -- Jo Anne Worley, comedian Jonathan Winters and writer and actor...

, 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...

, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show is a television variety show which ran from 1959 to 1971 , and a short-lived run in syndication, beginning in the fall of 1976...

, and different game shows such as Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...

. She continued working in various movies, TV shows, and theatrical performances (original productions and revivals alike) over the years; and she also became known for her work as a voice provider for several cartoons, animated movies, and video games. Her voice work includes Nutcracker Fantasy
Nutcracker Fantasy
Nutcracker Fantasy is an animated film by Sanrio, very loosely based on Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and E.T.A. Hoffman's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was nominated for the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and the 1980 Young Artist Award for Best Motion Picture...

 (1979), the Disney movies Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...

 (1991), A Goofy Movie
A Goofy Movie
A Goofy Movie is a 1995 American animated musical comedy film, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Animation France S.A. and Walt Disney Animation Australia , and released in theaters on April 7, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...

 (1995), Belle's Magical World
Belle's Magical World
Belle's Magical World is a 1998 direct-to-video Disney midquel film and the third installment in the Beauty and the Beast trilogy. It was originally released on February 17, 1998, and features the voices of Paige O'Hara as Belle, Robby Benson as The Beast, Jerry Orbach as Lumiere, David Ogden...

 (1998), and the voice of the Wardrobe in the video game Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II
is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...

 (2005).

She performed in regional theater, such as the Melody Top Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she appeared in Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...

 as Rose (1984), Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...

 (1982), Hello Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....

 (1980), Anything Goes
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...

 (1978), and Once Upon A Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway...

 (1974), She also appeared at the Welk Dinner Theater in San Diego, California in Same Time, Next Year
Same Time, Next Year
Same Time, Next Year is 1975 comedy play by Bernard Slade. The plot focuses on two people, married to others, who meet for a romantic tryst once a year for two dozen years.-Plot:...

 in 1985., Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.A satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries, it centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed...

 at the California Music Theatre, Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

, in 1987., and Nunsense
Nunsense
Nunsense is a musical comedy with a book, music, and lyrics by Dan Goggin. Originating as a line of greeting cards, Goggin expanded the concept into a cabaret that ran for 38 weeks, and eventually into a full-length musical...

 at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, La Mirada, California
La Mirada, California
La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census....

, in 1991.

In 1989, she returned to Broadway to appear in Prince of Central Park, but the show was canceled after one performance. Worley was cast as The Wicked Witch of the West in a 1999 musical production of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland...

, directed and adapted by Robert Johanson, with Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...

 playing the eponymous role. The production had a limited run at the Pantages Theater, Hollywood, California and at the Theater at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

, and she also joined the limited US tour. Worley played Mrs. Tottendale in the Broadway musical, The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1 May 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old...

 at the Marquis Theatre
Marquis Theatre
The Marquis Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 1535 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.Situated on the third floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, the 1611-seat venue was designed by developer/architect John C. Portman, Jr...

 from July through December 2007.

From January 8 until August 24, 2008, she played the role of Madame Morrible in the Los Angeles
Los 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...

 production of Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...

.

Jo Anne Worley continues to perform today in several acting circuits in New York and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, and she has also been active at times in the lecture circuit. She is currently President of and also serves on the Board of Directors for Actors and Others for Animals.

Television work

  • Adventures in Paradise: Act of Piracy (1961)
  • The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: (1960–1961)
  • Captain Nice: One Rotten Apple (1967)
  • Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
    Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
    Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...

     (cast member from 1968–1970)
  • Hot Dog: (cast member 1970)
  • The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971)
  • Night Gallery: House-With Ghost (1971)
  • What's a Nice Girl Like You...?
    What's a Nice Girl Like You...?
    What's a Nice Girl Like You...? is a 1971 made-for-television dramatic movie. It aired on ABC as an ABC Movie of the Week.-Plot:Shirley, a fiery Bronx bombshell, has become the target of kidnappers — though she can't figure out why.-Main cast:...

     (1971)
  • Adam-12: Mary Hong Loves Tommy Chen (1972)
  • The Paul Lynde Show: An Affair to Forget (1972)
  • It Pays to Be Ignorant
    It Pays to Be Ignorant
    It Pays to Be Ignorant was a radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto....

     (1973–1974)
  • The $10,000 Pyramid
    Pyramid (game show)
    Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...

     (and other subsequent incarnations of Pyramid; a recurring celebrity guest, 1973–1991)
  • Match Game
    Match Game
    Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...

     (Panelist)
  • Six Millon Dollar Man (1974)
  • The Riddlers (1977) (unsold game show pilot)
  • Hawaii Five-O: Blood Money is Hard to Wash (1977) episode "Blood Money Is Hard to Wash" (Anna Jovanko)
  • The Gift of the Magi
    The Gift of the Magi
    "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry , about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money...

     (1978)
  • The All-New Popeye Hour
    The All-New Popeye Hour
    The All-New Popeye Hour is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King Features Syndicate. Starring the popular comic strip character Popeye, the series aired from 1978 to 1983 on CBS.-Production:...

     (1978) (voice) Sgt. Bertha Blast
  • Don't Miss the Boat (1980)
  • Through the Magic Pyramid (1981) Mutnedjmet
  • Murder, She Wrote
    Murder, She Wrote
    Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...

     (1985) episode "My Johnny Lies over the Ocean" Carla Raymond
  • The Wuzzles
    The Wuzzles
    Disney's Wuzzles is an American animated television series created for Saturday morning television, and was first broadcast on September 14, 1985 on CBS. An idea of Michael Eisner for his new Disney television animation studio, the Wuzzles are crossbred animals which sport a combined appearance of...

     (1985) (voice) Hopopotamus
  • The Elf Who Saved Christmas (1992) (voice) Mrs. Buzzard
  • The Elf and the Magic Key (1993) (voice) Mrs. Buzzard
  • Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995)
  • Boy Meets World
    Boy Meets World
    Boy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...

     (1999) episode "Pickett Fences" (Mrs. Stevens)
  • Kim Possible
    Kim Possible
    Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...

     (2001) (voice) Mrs. Rockwaller
  • Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
    Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series)
    Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is an American sitcom based on the Archie comic book series of the same name.The show stars Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina Spellman, a teenager with magical powers, who lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda , and their magical talking cat Salem...

     (1998) episode "Good Will Haunting" (Aunt Beulah)
  • Bones
    Bones (TV series)
    Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...

     (2011) episode "The Truth in the Myth" (Diane Michaels)
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm
    Curb Your Enthusiasm
    Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...

     (2011) episode "The Smiley Face" (Rosemary)
  • Jessie
    Jessie (TV series)
    Jessie is an American television sitcom which premiered on September 30, 2011 on the Disney Channel. The series was created and executive produced by Pamela Eells O'Connell and stars Debby Ryan as Jessie, a small town Texas girl who moves to New York City and becomes a nanny to a high profile...

     (2011) 2 episodes "Zuri's New Old Friend" and "The Talented Mr. Kipling" (Mrs. Arthur/Nana Banana)On Disney Channel

Filmography

  • Moon Pilot (1962)
  • The Shaggy D.A.
    The Shaggy D.A.
    The Shaggy D.A. is a 1976 film sequel to 1959's The Shaggy Dog by Walt Disney Productions. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Don Tait, based on the original film and inspired by the long out-of-print Felix Salten novel, The Hound of Florence.It starred Dean Jones as the adult...

     (1976) (Katrinka Muggleberg)
  • Nutcracker Fantasy
    Nutcracker Fantasy
    Nutcracker Fantasy is an animated film by Sanrio, very loosely based on Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and E.T.A. Hoffman's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was nominated for the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and the 1980 Young Artist Award for Best Motion Picture...

     (1979) (voice)
  • Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...

     (1991) (Wardrobe)
  • A Goofy Movie
    A Goofy Movie
    A Goofy Movie is a 1995 American animated musical comedy film, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Animation France S.A. and Walt Disney Animation Australia , and released in theaters on April 7, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...

     (1995) (voice)
  • Belle's Magical World
    Belle's Magical World
    Belle's Magical World is a 1998 direct-to-video Disney midquel film and the third installment in the Beauty and the Beast trilogy. It was originally released on February 17, 1998, and features the voices of Paige O'Hara as Belle, Robby Benson as The Beast, Jerry Orbach as Lumiere, David Ogden...

     (1998) (direct-to-video) (Wardrobe)
  • Goodnight, We Love You (2004) (documentary)

External links

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