Jean Stapleton
Known for: Acting
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
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1975
Series
The Love Boat
1977
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944
Series
Touched by an Angel
Emma
1994
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
Great Performances
Helen
1971
Series
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Series
Everybody Loves Raymond
Aunt Alda
1996
Series
Dr. Kildare
Nurse Whitney
1961
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Host
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
1956
Series
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Series
Intimate Portrait
Self
1993
Series
My Three Sons
1960
Series
Naked City
Marilyn Konish
1958
Series
Naked City
Mrs. Trellis
1958
Series
The Defenders
Mrs. Larsen
1961
Series
The Carol Burnett Show
Self - Guest / Various Characters
1967
Series
Murphy Brown
1988
Series
The Philco Television Playhouse
Bus Girl
1948
Series
Caroline in the City
Aunt Mary Kosky
1995
Series
Route 66
1960
Series
Dinah!
Self
1974
Series
All in the Family
Edith Bunker
1971
Series
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983
Series
The Electric Company
1971
Series
Grace Under Fire
1993
Film
You've Got Mail
Birdie Conrad
1998
Series
Faerie Tale Theatre
The Giantess
1982
Series
Faerie Tale Theatre
The Fairy Godmother
1982
Series
Dennis the Menace
1959
Series
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
1968
Series
The Muppet Show
Self - Special Guest Star
1976
Series
The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985
Series
The Patty Duke Show
1963
Lux Video Theatre
Teacher
1950
Series
The Nurses
Mrs. Montgomery
1962
Series
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self
1996
Woman With A Past
1954
Series
Beakman's World
Beakman's Mom
1992
Series
The Eleventh Hour
1962
Series
Cher
Self
1975
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Mary Dobkin
1951
Series
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Narrator (voice)
1992
Film
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
Mrs. Jenkins (voice)
1998
Series
Style & Substance
Gloria Utley
1998
Series
Bagdad Cafe
Jasmine Zweibel
1990
Series
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
Film
Klute
Goldfarb's Secretary
1971
Film
Michael
Pansy Milbank
1996
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
2003
The General Motors Playwrights Theater
Emilie
1991
Film
Dead Man's Folly
Ariadne Oliver
1986
Trying Times
1987
Film
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
1979
Film
Cold Turkey
Mrs. Wappler
1971
Film
The Last Laugh
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2016
Film
Up the Down Staircase
Sadie Finch
1967
Film
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
Mother Goose
1990
Film
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
Gina's Mother
1973
Film
Aunt Mary
Mary Dobkin
1979
Film
You Can't Take it With You
Penny Sycamore
1979
Film
Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
Self
1985
Film
Bury Me in Niagara
Mildred
1993
Film
Cinderella
Fairy Godmother
1985
Film
Something Wild
Shirley Johnson
1961
Film
Bells Are Ringing
Sue
1960
Film
The Trial
Landlady (uncredited)
1993
Film
Lily Dale
Mrs. Coons
1996
Film
A Matter of Sex
Irene Wallin
1984
Film
Fire in the Dark
Henry Dutton
1991
Film
Pursuit of Happiness
Lorraine
2001
Film
Pursuit of Happiness
Lorrraine
2001
Film
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Giantess
1983
Film
Chance of a Lifetime
Mrs. Dunbar
1998
Film
Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes
Irene Silverman
2001
Film
The Television Revolution Begins: "All in the Family" Is On the Air
Self
2009
Film
The Habitation of Dragons
Lenora Tolliver
1992
Film
Tail Gunner Joe
Mrs. DeCamp
1977
Film
Eleanor, First Lady of the World
Eleanor Roosevelt
1982
TV Land Top 10
2004
Film
All in the Family: 20th Anniversary Special
1991
Film
Damn Yankees
Sister Miller
1958
Film
Those Were the Days: The Birth of "All in the Family"
Self
2009
Film
Baby
Byrd
2000
Film
Isabel's Choice
Isabel Cooper
1981
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
1994
Film
Angel Dusted
Betty Eaton
1981
Film
The Buddy System
Mrs. Price
1984
Film
Something's Afoot
Miss Tweed
1982
Film
Good Evening, Captain
Self
1981
Film
Funny Ladies: A Portrait of Women Cartoonists
Narrator
1991