Jean Stapleton
Acting • Born 1923-01-19 – Died 2013-05-31
Biography
Jean Stapleton was born Jeanne Murray in Manhattan, New York City, to Marie A. (Stapleton), an opera singer, and Joseph Edward Murray, a billboard advertising salesman. Her paternal grandparents were Irish. She was a cousin of actress Betty Jane Watson. Other relatives in show business were her uncle, Joseph E. Deming, a vaudevillian; and her brother Jack Stapleton, a stage actor. She graduated from Wadleigh High School, NYC, in 1939, and attended Hunter College. She worked as a secretary before becoming an actress. Stapleton made her stage debut at the Greenwood Playhouse, Peaks Island, Maine, in the summer of 1941, and her New York stage debut in "The Corn Is Green" (1948). She appeared on Broadway in the musicals "Damn Yankees" (1955) and "Bells Are Ringing" (1956), and later repeated her roles in the movie versions (Damn Yankees (1958) and Bells Are Ringing (1960)). Her other Broadway roles included the original companies of "Rhinoceros" (1961) and "Funny Girl" (1964). Stapleton also played Abby Brewster in the 1986-87 revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace".
Filmography
91 credits
Michael
Movie • 1996
Pansy Milbank
Pursuit of Happiness
Movie • 2001
Lorraine
Dead Man's Folly
Movie • 1986
Ariadne Oliver
You've Got Mail
Movie • 1998
Birdie Conrad
Damn Yankees
Movie • 1958
Sister Miller
Cold Turkey
Movie • 1971
Mrs. Wappler
Up the Down Staircase
Movie • 1967
Sadie Finch
Bells Are Ringing
Movie • 1960
Sue
Good Evening Captain
Movie • 1981
Self
The Buddy System
Movie • 1984
Mrs. Price
Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
Movie • 1985
Self
Something Wild
Movie • 1961
Shirley Johnson
The Television Revolution Begins: "All in the Family" Is On the Air
Movie • 2009
Self
Those Were the Days: The Birth of "All in the Family"
Movie • 2009
Self
Chance of a Lifetime
Movie • 1998
Mrs. Dunbar
Angel Dusted
Movie • 1981
Betty Eaton
Lily Dale
Movie • 1996
Mrs. Coons
The Last Laugh
Movie • 2016
Self
Funny Ladies: A Portrait of Women Cartoonists
Movie • 1991
Narrator
Klute
Movie • 1971
Goldfarb’s Secretary
Aunt Mary
Movie • 1979
Mary Dobkin
Eleanor, First Lady of the World
Movie • 1982
Eleanor Roosevelt
Tail Gunner Joe
Movie • 1977
Mrs. DeCamp
You Can't Take it With You
Movie • 1979
Penny Sycamore
Fire in the Dark
Movie • 1991
Henry Dutton
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
Movie • 1998
Mrs. Jenkins (voice)
A Matter of Sex
Movie • 1984
Irene Wallin
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
Movie • 1973
Gina's Mother
Bury Me in Niagara
Movie • 1993
Mildred
Jack and the Beanstalk
Movie • 1983
The Giantess
Cinderella
Movie • 1985
Fairy Godmother
Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes
Movie • 2001
Irene Silverman
Pursuit of Happiness
Movie • 2001
Lorrraine
The Trial
Movie • 1993
Landlady (uncredited)
Isabel's Choice
Movie • 1981
Isabel Cooper
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
Movie • 1990
Mother Goose
The Habitation of Dragons
Movie • 1992
Lenora Tolliver
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Movie • 1979
Self
All in the Family: 20th Anniversary Special
Movie • 1991
Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella
Movie • 1985
Fairy Godmother
Baby
Movie • 2000
Byrd
Something's Afoot
Movie • 1982
Miss Tweed
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
TV • 1996
Self
My Three Sons
TV • 1960
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Caroline in the City
TV • 1995
Aunt Mary Kosky
Touched by an Angel
TV • 1994
Emma
Everybody Loves Raymond
TV • 1996
Aunt Alda
All in the Family
TV • 1971
Edith Bunker
Route 66
TV • 1960
E! True Hollywood Story
TV • 1996
Murphy Brown
TV • 1988
Naked City
TV • 1958
Marilyn Konish
Grace Under Fire
TV • 1993
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
TV • 1983
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV • 1982
The Giantess
Beakman's World
TV • 1992
Beakman's Mom
The Electric Company
TV • 1971
The Muppet Show
TV • 1976
Self - Special Guest Star
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Mary Dobkin
The Eleventh Hour
TV • 1962
Intimate Portrait
TV • 1993
Self
Dennis the Menace
TV • 1959
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Teacher
The Defenders
TV • 1961
Mrs. Larsen
The Patty Duke Show
TV • 1963
The Philco Television Playhouse
TV • 1948
Bus Girl
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
TV Land Top 10
TV • 2004
Dr. Kildare
TV • 1961
Nurse Whitney
Bagdad Cafe
TV • 1990
Jasmine Zweibel
Cher
TV • 1975
Self
Trying Times
TV • 1987
Woman With A Past
TV • 1954
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
TV • 2003
The Ray Bradbury Theater
TV • 1985
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
Naked City
TV • 1958
Mrs. Trellis
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV • 1982
The Fairy Godmother
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
TV • 1992
Narrator (voice)
The Carol Burnett Show
TV • 1967
Self - Guest / Various Characters
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
TV • 1994
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
The Dick Cavett Show
TV • 1968
Self - Guest
The Nurses
TV • 1962
Mrs. Montgomery
Style & Substance
TV • 1998
Gloria Utley
Great Performances
TV • 1971
Helen
The Merv Griffin Show
TV • 1962
Self
Dinah!
TV • 1974
Self
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Nominee
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
TV • 1968
Self