Shirley Jones | Hollywood Yesterday

Shirley Jones: Beautiful and Talented Star of Film, Musicals, and Television

March 7, 2023 By Joi

Shirley Jones and Robert Preston

If you’ve read previous posts, you know what a big fan I am of Shirley Jones. I consider her one of the most beautiful, versatile and genuinely talented stars I’ve ever had the joy of watching. Whether it’s film or television, she positively lights up the entire house when she’s on the screen.

The thing I don’t quite understand is this: How did her name become so synonymous with The Partridge Family that her wonderful filmography is often taken for granted? Don’t get me wrong, as someone who loves classic television as much as she does old Hollywood, there’s nothing in the world wrong with being a television legend.

I mean… Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Red Foxx, Andy Griffith, Jackie Gleason, Angie Dickinson, Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Young, Donna Reed, and a HOST of others wear it beautifully… and many, like Shirley, also had phenomenal film careers.

Being a legend in television and bringing joy to generations is just as special as being a legend in film and bringing joy to generations. In fact, when it comes to television, you’re actually…

seen by more people
seen more often, thanks to syndication
in many ways become part of millions of families.. hard to beat that!

Donna Reed (another favorite) is rather similar to Shirley Jones, in my opinion. Both starred in iconic films (several for each lady, in fact) and gave brilliant performances time after time… yet both would go on to portray such strong, wonderful women on television that they’re (more times than not) associated primarily with the roles they played.

Same can be said of Lucille Ball – though she never had a film quite as iconic as It’s a Wonderful Life, The Music Man, or Oklahoma!.

I guess really the only thing that sticks in my craw (is that a great old saying or what?) is the fact that, when people are associating a star with one medium, they short-change the other. Not long ago, I read someone online refer to Lucille Ball as “… a television actress, no more than that.”

Excuse yourself, sir… she was much more than that. WHY do people want to limit or categorize individuals so habitually? What’s perhaps more irritating is this… and please hear me out.. I don’t see it happen as often with actors as I do actresses. I have never read someone say that Jackie Gleason was a “television star, nothing more.” In fact, he is (rightfully so) heralded as a star of BOTH.

Lucille Ball, Shirley Jones, and Donna Reed deserve the same consideration.

Okay, I got that out of my system, time to get on with it!

One of my favorite Shirley Jones movies is The Music Man and she gives one of my favorite Shirley Jones performances. The entire film is simply breathtaking, from the musical numbers to the storytelling and from the hairstyles to the AMAZING costumes.

Side note: Are you familiar with the wonderful animated Christmas movie Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970)? The character of Miss Jessica seems to be completely inspired by Shirley Jones’ character in The Music Man. Hair, face, figure, clothes, personality…

Every time I watch this extraordinary Christmas classic (every single year, usually more than once!), I see Shirley Jones in the role and it makes me love Miss Jessica even more.

You can find The Music Man on dvd (Amazon Link) or watch it on Prime Video.

Beautiful Shirley Jones, Oklahoma! (1955)

December 5, 2022 By Joi

Shirley Jones, Oklahoma!

One of my favorite actresses, Shirley Jones, is one of the rare stars who contributed to old Hollywood films as well as classic television. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her in a movie (Oklahoma!). I had been VERY familiar with her from The Partridge Family – a show I watched like it was my job for many, many years. I walked into our living room once because I heard a beautiful voice singing and wanted to know where it was coming from.

When I saw a ridiculously beautiful actress on television (like a Disney princess come to life), I froze for a minute because she seemed so familiar to me. As soon as she looked at the camera, it hit me, just as my mom was asking, “Do you know who that is??”

I remember being glued to the television for the remainder of the wonderful musical and promptly asking my mom what other movies she had been in. It wasn’t long before I was well on my way to seeing them all.

Fast forward to today and I am head over heels in love with musicals and have been for over half my life – and one of the main reasons I ever searched them out in the first place is pictured here. Shirley Jones, with her great beauty, talent, and palpable onscreen energy and spark drew me to a genre that has never let me down.

Shirley Jones, Oklahoma!

You can buy Oklahoma! on dvd or Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Marlon Brando, Shirley Jones, and David Niven: Bedtime Story (1964)

July 28, 2022 By Joi

Marlon Brando, Shirley Jones, and David Niven

I’m not sure why these three always strike me as such a deliciously unusual threesome but they do. I guess part of the reason may be that I tend to think of Shirley Jones as a much more modern actor than the others. I was surprised when I did the math and realized that Brando was born just 10 years before Shirley – I honestly would have thought there were more years between them.

Bedtime Story (1964, directed by Ralph Levy) is a fun, really cute movie with a strong “Sixties” feel that I love. In addition to the three pictured above, the cast also includes Dody Goodman, Parley Baer, Marie Windsor, and Aram Stephan.

You can find Bedtime Story on dvd or blu-ray (Amazon link).

How beautiful is Shirley Jones… her face is absolutely perfect!

James Stewart and Henry Fonda: The Cheyenne Social Club (I LOVE this film so much!)

December 17, 2021 By Joi

James Stewart and Henry Fonda

If you know anything about my old Hollywood favorites, you know that James Stewart and Henry Fonda are two of my favorite all-time actors (male… I make this distinction because many people have taken to calling ALL actors and actresses “actors”). While I have other favorites (John Wayne, Melvyn Douglas, James Garner, Humphrey Bogart to name a few), these two never budge from the top two spots.

It just occurred to me, this seems like a particularly unusual post among all the Christmas ones, doesn’t it?! Can’t help it… I’m unusual, myself, so I gravitate to the unusual.

I recently revisited this wonderful movie, which explains why it’s on my mind. It’s absolutely wonderful and the entire cast is outstanding – particularly Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Shirley Jones, and Sue Ane Langdon.

Shirley Jones

The wonderful James Stewart and Henry Fonda (who happened to be very close friends) made three movies together:

On Our Merry Way (1948)
Firecreek (1968)
The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)

I wish they had made more, but this fan will take what she can get!

The hilarious and FUN The Cheyenne Social Club (1970) is my favorite of the three but, as you could guess, I love all three. The Cheyenne Social Club was directed by the legendary actor Gene Kelly (not gonna lie, this has always fascinated me) and also stars Shirley Jones, Sue Ane Langdon, Dabs Greer, Elaine Devry, Jackie Joseph (best-remembered as Ramona, Ernest T. Bass’ girlfriend on The Andy Griffith Show), Jackie Russell, and Sharon DeBord.

Robert Middleton, Henry Fonda, and James Stewart

You can find a James Stewart and Henry Fonda “Double Feature” DVD Set on Amazon – The Cheyenne Social Club and Firecreek (Amazon link). When you’re two favorite actors are Henry Fonda and James Stewart like mine are, this is just the kind of double feature you’re looking for!

Shirley Jones and James Stewart

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae in Carousel (1956)

October 16, 2021 By Joi

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae

When you spend as much time with old movies and classic television as I do (and have for a lifetime!), you find yourself with quite a few favorite stars – a look at the Hollywood Yesterday About Page will show you just how many! – but we all have what I like to call our “absolute favorites.” Our “ride or dies,” if you will. One of my own personal “absolutes” is Shirley Jones. I just love everything about her. Her movies, work on television, class… every bit of it.

I often find myself wondering why we (all of us who are immersed in old Hollywood – whether it’s from Silents through the 70s or only certain eras) don’t talk as much about the more recent stars as we do the older ones. I mean, Shirley Jones, Angela Lansbury, Ann-Margret, James Garner, Lee Marvin, Sally Field, Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, James Caan, for example are every bit as wonderful and well-loved as, say, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, James Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, and James Dean.

I believe part of it may be that when stars have been taken from us, we tend to try harder to keep their memory alive, whereas the wonderful stars who are still VERY much with us or who have only recently left us don’t cause us to feel quite as much of a pull to keep their face and name alive.

While that’s understandable to an extent, it’s also frustrating because I’d rather see all of us celebrate these stars while they’re still on this side of eternity to truly enjoy it. We have so many extraordinary stars who are still very much with us and I’m making it a mission to celebrate them just as much as anyone.

The only problem we run into at times has to do with photographs. Many of the stars of the early years of Hollywood have more photos available to us than the more recent stars. When it comes to photos that are in the public domain or images that are okay to use because they were promotional photos, the older may not necessarily be the better but the older is definitely the easier!

At any rate, I’m making it a personal mission to celebrate ALL of the stars of Hollywood Yesterday, regardless of just how “yesterday” it was!

The photos in this post are of the beautiful and talented Shirley Jones and her outstanding co-star Gordon MacRae from Carousel (1956, directed by Henry King). The movie also stars Cameron Mitchell and Barbara Ruick.

You can find the joyous musical Carousel on dvd (Amazon link) or watch on Prime Video.

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae

Shirley Jones and Hermione Gingold: The Music Man!

January 31, 2021 By Joi

Shirley Jones and Hermione Gingold

The Music Man was recently shown on television and I knew straight away that Shirley Jones had to star in my pictures of the day today.

Shirley Jones, Janet Leigh, Cyd Charisse, and Ann Miller are four stars that fascinate me. Incredibly talented and unmistakably beautiful and charismatic… and yet, somehow, their beauty always sneaks up on you. How can that be, with four such beauties?!

It happened, again, with Shirley while I was watching The Music Man. Each time it cut to her, I thought, “Whoa… what a perfect face! That complexion… wow.” I mean… I know what a beauty the actress is – why does she always sneak up on me like that?!

It happened not long ago with Janet Leigh, while watching The Naked Spur – I know she was a beautiful actress, but AGAIN, I kept thinking, “What a wonderful face!” Ann Miller and Cyd Charisse are the same way.

I can’t say with absolute certainty, but some may have to do with the fact that these ladies didn’t do the “Gaze upon my gorgeousness, you mortals! GAZE!” glam shots a lot of actresses did. I am not remotely knocking these photos – they were all part of the job. Some actresses just seemed to (for the most part) avoid the types of photo shoots other actresses had or chose to do. Unfortunately for some and fortunately for others, these glamour shots have become ingrained in our minds and some are more associated with beauty than others are.

And yet… when you watch the stars in movies, you realize that many weren’t just as beautiful as those who are ingrained… but often even more so!

Suffice to say, Shirley Jones is and has always been one of the most beautiful, most talented, and charismatic stars we’ve ever had on television or film. Sometimes I think she is cursed by her perfection – it’s easy to take her huge talent, angel face and flawless figure for granted.

If you haven’t seen The Music Man in a while, I hope you’ll check it out – it’s a ridiculously fun musical and Shirley Jones is… you guessed it…. flawless.

You can find The Music Man on dvd (Amazon Link) or watch it on Prime Video.

Sneaky Gorgeous Shirley Jones

The Cheyenne Social Club: A Wonderful Cast Makes This One A LOT of Fun

October 22, 2020 By Joi

The Excellent Cast of The Cheyenne Social Club

One of my favorite films is The Cheyenne Social Club – I absolutely love it. I suppose there are several reasons for this…

Westerns and Comedies are my favorite genres and this combines the two beautifully.
James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Shirley Jones, and Sue Ane Langdon are personal favorites.
It’s outrageous FUN!

I always get a kick out of the cast – for the most part, they seemed to really enjoy making this film. Sue Ane Langdon and Henry Fonda bring so much energy to their roles, they practically jump off the screen.

I also love that Jackie Joseph (best-remembered and so loved so much!) as Erenst T. Bass’ girlfriend Ramona on The Andy Griffith Show plays one of the lovely “girls” in the movie. I’m sure you’ll recognize her beautiful face third from the right above.

The rest of the beautiful Cheyenne Social Club employees were played by Elaine Devry, Jackie Russell, and Sharon DeBord.

The only way I’ve been able to find The Cheyenne Social Club on dvd is as part of a James Stewart and Henry Fonda “Double Feature” DVD Set on Amazon – The Cheyenne Social Club and Firecreek (Amazon link). They’re both great films, so it’s very much worth it but I hope the film is available on its own and on Prime Video soon. I’m very anxious for more people to see this hilarious movie.

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae, Oklahoma!

January 31, 2020 By Joi

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae

One of my favorite musicals is the wonderful, beautiful, and (in my opinion) perfect in every way Oklahoma! Shirley Jones is so darn good in the role of Laurey that it’s almost impossible to believe it’s her first movie… yet it was!

Don’t get me wrong, I love her in this role and couldn’t love Oklahoma? any more if it I had starred in it, myself (what a perfect flop that would have been!), but if this is the only role you know Shirley Jones from, please please please make a point of seeing her other films. NOTHING in the world wrong with her performance, obviously, I just don’t think you can get a full measure of a star from one film or even two.

Another example is Olivia de Havilland. I always beg people who have only seen her in Gone With the Wind to watch her in other films as well. Was she perfect as Melanie? Of course… but, like Shirley Jones’ Laurey, Melanie is pretty much one-dimensional. Both actresses have many wonderful dimensions and possessed (and still possess!) more charisma than one role allows them to showcase.

Again, nothing in the world against Laurey or Melanie – I love them both to distraction, but BOY, you should check out these ladies when they aren’t ALL sunshine and goodness!

You can buy Oklahoma! on dvd for your collection (I have a copy in my Shirley Jones collection and am so weird about my collections, I want to order one for my Gloria Grahame collection as well… there’s no making sense of my peculiarities, don’t even try). You can also watch it on Prime Video.

Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, and Charlotte Greenwood, Oklahoma

June 22, 2018 By Joi

Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, and Charlotte Greenwood

I’m in a bit of a hurry (supper needs to be cooked and I am starving!), but I was anxious to add today’s picture of the day – three of the wonderful cast members of a perfect musical, Oklahoma!: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, and Charlotte Greenwood.

I rewatched this musical (for probably the millionth time) recently and realized something – I come to love it EVEN more each time I revisit these colorful, beautiful characters. If you haven’t seen it in a while, rewatch asap.

It’s good for the soul!

You can buy Oklahoma! on dvd or watch it on Prime Video.