Mary Jane Croft
Encyclopedia
Mary Jane Croft was an American
actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy
, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show
and Here's Lucy
, and Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
.
, Croft worked extensively as an actress in radio, appearing on such programs as The Adventures of Sam Spade
, Suspense
, The Beulah Show
, The Bill Goodwin Show, Blondie
, Broadway Is My Beat
, Cathy and Elliott Lewis on Stage, Crime Classics, Four-Star Playhouse, Honest Harold, Joan Davis Time
, The Mel Blanc Show
, One Man's Family
, Our Miss Brooks
, Romance, Sears Radio Theater
, The Story of Sandra Martin and Twelve Players. She also appeared in frequent guest star roles on Lucille Ball
's My Favorite Husband
, the beginning of their later professional and personal relationship.
, she was a frequent guest star on other television programs, including Howard Duff
's adventure
/drama
series Dante
in the 1960 episode "The Misfortune Cookie". She was a regular on at least two other series, as ebullient neighbor Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
(ABC) and on Our Miss Brooks (CBS), in which she reprised her radio role as Miss Daisy Enright, the title character's rival. She provided the voice for Cleo the basset hound
in Jackie Cooper
's NBC
series The People’s Choice
(1955–58).
Late in the weekly run of the original I Love Lucy
series, the major characters moved to Connecticut
. There Lucy Ricardo befriended a new neighbor, Betty Ramsey, portrayed by Croft. She was very socially conscious and tended to get Lucy involved in a different sort of series of adventures than did Vivian Vance
(as Ethel Mertz
). She had also guest starred as a wealthy schoolmate of Lucy's, Cynthia Harcourt, in "Lucy is Envious," then as Evelyn Bigsby, the airline passenger seated next to Lucy in "Return Home from Europe," the episode in which Lucy disguises a hunk of cheese as a baby.
When Vance left The Lucy Show
after the 1964-1965 season, Croft became Lucy's new sidekick
, Mary Jane Lewis. Croft had previously had a recurring role as Audrey Simmons during the show's early seasons set in Danfield, New York. Mary Jane Lewis was Croft's legal name at the time, as she was then married to actor-producer Elliott Lewis
(who had originally produced The Lucy Show during its first two seasons) but continued to use her maiden name professionally. Her only son, by a prior marriage, was killed in the Vietnam War
during the period that she was co-starring with Ball.
The Lewis character was maintained when The Lucy Show was transformed into Ball's third sitcom
, Here's Lucy
. The character remained until the cancellation of Here's Lucy in 1974.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
and Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
, and Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
.
Radio
Born in Muncie, IndianaMuncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
, Croft worked extensively as an actress in radio, appearing on such programs as The Adventures of Sam Spade
The Adventures of Sam Spade
The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951...
, Suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
, The Beulah Show
Beulah (series)
The Beulah Show is an American situation-comedy series that ran on CBS radio from 1945 to 1954, and on ABC television from 1950 to 1952. The show is notable for being the first sitcom to star an African American actress.-Radio:...
, The Bill Goodwin Show, Blondie
Blondie (radio)
Blondie is a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950....
, Broadway Is My Beat
Broadway Is My Beat
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air. For the remainder of the series, the role of Detective Danny...
, Cathy and Elliott Lewis on Stage, Crime Classics, Four-Star Playhouse, Honest Harold, Joan Davis Time
Joan Davis
Joan Davis was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy, I Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.Born as Madonna Josephine...
, The Mel Blanc Show
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
, One Man's Family
One Man's Family
One Man's Family, is a long-running American radio soap opera. It was heard for almost three decades, from 1932 to 1959. Created by Carlton E. Morse, it was the longest-running uninterrupted serial in the history of American radio...
, Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
, Romance, Sears Radio Theater
Sears Radio Theater
Sears Radio Theater was a radio drama anthology series which ran weeknightly on CBS Radio in 1979, sponsored by the Sears chain. Often paired with The CBS Radio Mystery Theater during its first season, the program offered a different genre of drama for each day's broadcast.In 1980, the program...
, The Story of Sandra Martin and Twelve Players. She also appeared in frequent guest star roles on Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
's My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, co-starring Lucille Ball, was the initial basis for what evolved into the groundbreaking TV sitcom I Love Lucy. The series was based on the novel Mr. and Mrs...
, the beginning of their later professional and personal relationship.
Television
In addition to her work with Lucille BallLucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, she was a frequent guest star on other television programs, including Howard Duff
Howard Duff
Howard Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
's adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
/drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series Dante
Dante (TV series)
Dante is a short-lived NBC adventure/drama television series starring Howard Duff as Willie Dante, a former gambler who operates Dante's Inferno, a San Francisco, California, nightclub. Alan Mowbray co-starred as Stewart Styles, the Maitre d'; Tom D'Andrea as Biff, Dante's "man Friday", and Mort...
in the 1960 episode "The Misfortune Cookie". She was a regular on at least two other series, as ebullient neighbor Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
(ABC) and on Our Miss Brooks (CBS), in which she reprised her radio role as Miss Daisy Enright, the title character's rival. She provided the voice for Cleo the basset hound
Basset Hound
The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits and hare by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound....
in Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...
's NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series The People’s Choice
The People's Choice (TV series)
The People's Choice is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from 1955 to 1958, primarily sponsored by The Borden Company.It stars Jackie Cooper as Socrates "Sock" Miller, an ex-Marine and New City, California politician with a basset hound named "Cleo", whose thoughts , as she balefully...
(1955–58).
Late in the weekly run of the original I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
series, the major characters moved to Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. There Lucy Ricardo befriended a new neighbor, Betty Ramsey, portrayed by Croft. She was very socially conscious and tended to get Lucy involved in a different sort of series of adventures than did Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance
Vivian Roberta Jones was an American television and theater actress and singer. Often referred to as “TV’s most beloved second banana,” she is best known for her role as Ethel Mertz, sidekick to Lucille Ball on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy...
(as Ethel Mertz
Ethel Mertz
Ethel Roberta Louise Mae Mertz is one of the four main fictional characters in the highly popular 1950s and 1960s American television sitcom I Love Lucy, played by Vivian Vance. Ethel is the main character Lucy's middle-aged landlady - supposed to have been born about 1905, and raised in New Mexico...
). She had also guest starred as a wealthy schoolmate of Lucy's, Cynthia Harcourt, in "Lucy is Envious," then as Evelyn Bigsby, the airline passenger seated next to Lucy in "Return Home from Europe," the episode in which Lucy disguises a hunk of cheese as a baby.
When Vance left The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
after the 1964-1965 season, Croft became Lucy's new sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
, Mary Jane Lewis. Croft had previously had a recurring role as Audrey Simmons during the show's early seasons set in Danfield, New York. Mary Jane Lewis was Croft's legal name at the time, as she was then married to actor-producer Elliott Lewis
Elliott Lewis (radio)
Elliott Lewis was active during the Golden Age of Radio as an actor, producer and director, proficient in both comedy and drama. These talents earned him the nickname "Mr Radio"....
(who had originally produced The Lucy Show during its first two seasons) but continued to use her maiden name professionally. Her only son, by a prior marriage, was killed in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
during the period that she was co-starring with Ball.
The Lewis character was maintained when The Lucy Show was transformed into Ball's third sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
. The character remained until the cancellation of Here's Lucy in 1974.
Later years and death
Croft continued to act in television for several years after the end of Here's Lucy, even reuniting with Ball in 1977 in the special, Lucy Calls the President. She died of natural causes in Century City, California.Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1943 | In Old Oklahoma In Old Oklahoma In Old Oklahoma is a 1943 American film starring John Wayne, Martha Scott, Albert Dekker, Gabby Hayes, Marjorie Rambeau, and Dale Evans. The movie was directed by Albert S. Rogell and is usually shown under the title War of the Wildcats... |
Dance-hall girl | Uncredited |
| 1958 | Kathy O | Harriet Burton/Aunt Harriet | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1952 | I Married Joan I Married Joan I Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred veteran vaudeville, film, and radio comedienne Joan Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge, Bradley Stevens .-Synopsis:... |
Helen | Unknown episodes |
| 1953–1955 | Our Miss Brooks Our Miss Brooks Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits... |
Miss Daisy Enright | 4 episodes |
| 1954-1957 | I Love Lucy I Love Lucy I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System... |
Cynthia Harcourt, Betty Ramsey | 7 episodes |
| 1955–1958 | The People's Choice The People's Choice (TV series) The People's Choice is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from 1955 to 1958, primarily sponsored by The Borden Company.It stars Jackie Cooper as Socrates "Sock" Miller, an ex-Marine and New City, California politician with a basset hound named "Cleo", whose thoughts , as she balefully... |
Cleo the Basset Hound (voice) | all episodes |
| 1956 | Dragnet | 2 episodes | |
| 1956–1966 | The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet | Clara Randolph | 28 episodes |
| 1958 | The Court of Last Resort | Mrs. Craig | 1 episode |
| 1960 | Dante | Alma Jenks | 1 episode |
| 1962–1968 | The Lucy Show The Lucy Show The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program... |
Audrey Simmons (1962-'65)/Mary Jane Lewis (1965-'68) | 26 episodes |
| 1966 | Vacation Playhouse | Helen | 1 episode |
| The Two of Us | Helen | Television pilot Television pilot A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an... |
|
| 1969 | The Mothers-in-Law The Mothers-in-Law 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; it was produced by Desi Arnaz after the dissolutions... |
Carol Yates | 1 episode |
| 1969–1974 | Here's Lucy Here's Lucy Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create... |
Mary Jane Lewis | |
| 1977 | Lucy Calls the President | Midge Bowser | Television special |