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All this curvaceous character actress only needed to open her mouth to spark laughter—something she did frequently on television during the 1950s and 1960s. While she maximized her distinctive rasp, she also demonstrated excellent comedic talent. Born Jean Leete on February 23, 1923, in Charleston, West Virginia, Jean Carson (not to be confused with British actress Jeannie Carson of Hey, Jeannie! fame) was trained in music and dance and began performing at age 12. With ambitions to become an actress, she later studied at Carnegie Mellon University.
Her Broadway debut came in 1948 with George S. Kaufman’s "Bravo!", alongside Kevin McCarthy and Oscar Homolka. Although the show, set in New York, lasted only 44 performances, Jean made a memorable comic impression and earned a Theatre World Award. She went on to appear in another Kaufman production, "Metropole" (1949), as well as "The Bird Cage" (1950) with Melvyn Douglas and Maureen Stapleton, and "Men of Distinction" (1953) with Robert Preston, though these plays were similarly short-lived. Success finally arrived with the 1954 Broadway comedy "Anniversary Waltz," which ran for 544 performances. Jean stood out in the cast, largely due to her unique deep voice.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she was regularly featured in many popular television shows, including "The Red Buttons Show," "The Tom Ewell Show," "Wagon Train," "Sugarfoot," "Perry Mason," "The Untouchables," and "Gomer Pyle." Despite her frequent TV presence, she never headlined her own sitcom, though she was a regular on the brief-run The Betty Hutton Show (1959), playing the star’s girlfriend. Notably, she appeared in a memorable episode of "The Twilight Zone" alongside Fred Clark as thieves who find a camera that captures future images. Jean often portrayed bleached blonde floozies, jailbirds, party girls, and gold diggers, but she was at her best as Jalene Naomi and Daphne on The Andy Griffith Show (1960). In a classic episode, Jalene teams up with Jane Dulo and Reta Shaw as three women on the run, holding Deputy Barney Fife and Floyd Lawson hostage while simultaneously flirting with them.
Jean’s career was hampered by a long-standing struggle with alcoholism. She was active in Alcoholics Anonymous and eventually retired from Hollywood in the early 1980s, relocating to the Palm Springs area to be near family. There, she occasionally performed in local theater productions such as "The Elephant Man" and "Steel Magnolias." After suffering a paralytic stroke in September 2005, her health declined. She passed away in a Palm Desert convalescent home on November 2, 2005, at age 82. She is survived by two sons.
