Movie Musings: Disney and More

Shirley Jones: A Partridge from a Pennsylvania Tree

At 21 years of age, she burst onto the screen, a newcomer as Laurey Williams in the film adaptation of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Broadway hit Oklahoma! (1955). At 26, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress playing Lulu Baines, the prostitute, in Elmer Gantry (1960). And by 36, her singing talents splashed from movies into television as she became the matriarch of The Partridge Family (1970-1974). These three roles, along with several notable others, were portrayed by none other than Shirley Jones. From leading lady roles in movie-musicals, to ‘70s television icon, she has been entertaining the world for more than 60 years. (even throwing in a few bit roles for the Disney Studios!).

Shirley Mae Jones was born on March 31st 1934 in Charleroi, Pennsylvania to Paul and Marjorie Jones (Marjorie was a homemaker and Paul was the co-owner of the Jones Brewing Company). She was their only child, and they named her after Shirley Temple. Her family later relocated to Smithton, Pennsylvania where six-year-old Shirley began singing in the Methodist Church Choir. She went to South Hutingdon High School in Ruffs Dale, Pennsylvania where she began performing in plays. Throughout her childhood and teen years, her family vacationed in New York where they would shop and see Broadway shows. When she graduated High School, she decided to attend college in New York, but on her way to college, she decided to meet up with her friend Ken Welch, a gifted pianist who lived in an apartment New York. They sang songs at the piano in his apartment and Welch saw potential in his friend, and encouraging her to go to open auditions that were being held for each of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. Jones had never been to a professional audition before, but Welch convinced her to go.

She went to the audition and sang a song that Ken Welch had written just for her called “My Very First Kiss,” along with two others. John Fearnley, Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s casting director, was so impressed, that he ran to get Richard Rodgers himself and asked her to sing again. Also impressed, Rodgers called Oscar Hammerstein II to hear her, and, of course, agreed with them. They asked her what she had done before, and she told them, “Nothing.” They eagerly offered her a spot in the chorus of South Pacific, and though Jones told them she was on her way to college, but the two legends persuaded her  to try singing in the chorus. (They had to help persuade her parents as well!). As a result of taking the job, she became the first and only singer ever to become under contract to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Within a year after that, she landed the film role of Laurey in “Oklahoma,” opposite Gordon MacRae. The film was a hit and won two Oscars. Soon after, she began a European stage tour of Oklahoma with her future husband, Jack Cassidy, cast as Curly. They were married in 1956. 

That same year, she reunited with MacRae for the film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (1956). Frank Sinatra was originally cast as Billy Bigelow, but when he arrived on-location in Boothbay Harbor, Maine to begin filming, he immediately abandoned the location when he discovered that the film was to be shot in two formats: Cinemascope and Cinemascope 55. He personally exclaimed to the film’s director, Henry King, “You’re not getting two Sinatras for the price of one.” As a result, the film’s producer, Henry Ephron, suggested that Shirley Jones to give Gordon MacRae a call. MacRae replied, “Give me three days. I have to lose 10 pounds, but I’ll be there.” The year after “Carousel,” Shirley Jones made the movie-musical April Love (1957) with Pat Boone. These musicals would have typecast her for the rest of her career, but she managed to shed the “innocent young ingenue” image when she was cast in “Elmer Gantry.” That film’s director, Richard Brooks, initially did not want her for the role, but he when he saw her film her first scene, he specifically told Jones that she would win the Oscar for her performance. (Richard Brooks also won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film.)

Two years after her Oscar win, Shirley Jones returned to the movie-musical, starring as Marian “the Librarian” Paroo in Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man (1962). (Ironically, just as in “Carousel,” Frank Sinatra was also considered to play Harold Hill in the film, but Meredith Wilson said “No Robert Preston, no movie.”) So not only did Shirley get to work with the original Broadway lead Robert Preston, she was joined by Pert Kelton as Mrs. Paroo, choreographer Onna White and director Morton DaCosta-all from the original Broadway show. At one point, Shirley Jones went up to Onna White and explained “Look, I have to warn you, I am not a dancer. I have no dancing training whatsoever.” White replied “Honey, by the time this movie’s over, you’ll be a dancer.” Shirley Jones became close with young Ron Howard who played her little brother, Winthrop Paroo. She reunited with Howard the following year in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963). 

Three months into filming the movie, Jones discovered that she was pregnant with her second son, Patrick Cassidy. When she gave the news to Morton DaCosta, he assured her not to worry and that they would have the costume department build a corset that they would use to pull her in if ever she were to “shrek out.” They would also film her as often as they could from the waist up, and DaCosta requested that she not tell anyone about it. Though there was some speculation from several members of the cast, particularly from Robert Preston, and when it came time to shoot the kissing moment in “Till There Was You,” as Preston leaned in for the kiss and felt a kick from Jones’s stomach. He jumped back and said “What was that?” and she said “That’s Patrick Cassidy. Say Hello!” Ironically, Patrick Cassidy himself had the chance to meet Robert Preston, and when he walked up to him to introduce himself he said “Hello, I’m Patrick Cassidy,” and Preston said “Yes, I know. We’ve already met.” And to the further the irony, in 2012 the California Musical Theatre revived the Music Man with Shirley Jones as Mrs. Paroo and Patrick Cassidy as Professor Harold Hill.

In 1970, Shirley Jones was cast in another one of her most-often identified roles, the role of Shirley Partridge in “The Partridge Family.” She initially had been offered the role of Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) but that role went to her best friend, Florence Henderson. Coincidentally, Florence Henderson had also lobbied heavily for the role of Laurey in “Oklahoma,” and she had even gotten to perform with Gordon MacRae in the “Oklahoma,” segment of the television special General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein (1954). She was cast opposite her stepson, David Cassidy as Keith Partridge, who was the lead singer for the family. The show earned Jones two Golden Globe nominations as Best TV Actress: Comedy or Musical in its first two seasons. The family on the show also produced 13 albums together with 11 hit singles. 

For the Walt Disney Studios, Shirley Jones appeared in an episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1954-1991) entitled “The Adventures of Pollyanna.” She played Pollyanna’s Aunt Polly, a role which was originated by Jane Wyman in the 1960 film of the same name, starring Hayley Mills. She also appeared in two episodes of the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie (2010-2014) as Grandma Linda Duncan.

Shirley Jones’s career hasn’t stopped, as she recently reprised her role as Lulu Baines in the Bruce Lee film, Bruce the Challenge (2018). After more than six decades in show business, she has entertained audiences through every medium in the industry-even books. In 1990 she wrote a book about her second marriage to comedian Marty Ingels, Shirley and Marty: An Unlikely Love Story and in 2013 she wrote Shirley Jones: A Memoir. While she started out as American’s favorite songbird—she had a multi-faceted career spanning decades.