Jean Stapleton

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Birthday:

19 January 1923, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name:

Jeanne Murray

Height:

173 cm

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". Show less «

[on being identified with Edith] The first time I was on [the TV quiz show] "Hollywood Squares", I didn't get one question until the end. I ...Show more »

[on being identified with Edith] The first time I was on [the TV quiz show] "Hollywood Squares", I didn't get one question until the end. I assumed it was because they thought I was a dingbat. Show less «

[on her most famous character, Edith] She is not the typical American housewife. At least, I *hope* she's not the typical American housewife...Show more »

[on her most famous character, Edith] She is not the typical American housewife. At least, I *hope* she's not the typical American housewife. What Edith represents is the housewife who is still in bondage to the male figure, very submissive and restricted to the home. She is very naive, and she kind of thinks through a mist, and she lacks the education to expand her world. I would hope that most housewives are not like that. [But] I view her as a true and honest reflection of a woman who is part of a family like the Bunkers. She has her good points--she is very human, very honest, very compassionate, very intuitive, and in most situations she says the truth and pricks Archie's inflated ego. Show less «

There's nothing like humor to burst what seems to be an enormous problem.