Jean Muir (actress)
Jean Muir | |
|---|---|
 Warner Bros. publicity portrait of Muir | |
| Born | Jean Muir Fullarton February 13, 1911 Suffern, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 23, 1996 (aged 85) Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
| Years active | 1930–1950, 1958–1962 |
| Spouse |
Henry Jaffe
(m. 1940; div. 1960) |
| Children | 3, including Michael Jaffe[1] |
Jean Muir (born Jean Muir Fullarton; February 13, 1911 – July 23, 1996) was an American stage and film actress. She was the first performer to be blacklisted after her name appeared in the anti-Communist pamphlet Red Channels, published in 1950. In her later years, she was a college drama teacher.
Early years
[edit]An only child, Muir was born in Suffern, New York. Her father was a certified public accountant, and her mother was a substitute teacher.[2] Jean attended the Dwight School in Englewood, New Jersey.[3] After graduating, she visited France and briefly studied French at the Sorbonne University in Paris.[4]
Career
[edit]Muir went to New York City to become an actress. She landed a job as a model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency.[5] At age 19, she made her Broadway debut in The Truth Game (1930). She was using the stage name "Jean Fullarton".[6] She went on to act in other plays including Peter Ibbetson, Life Begins, and Saint Wench. The latter production folded after a week; however, a theatrical agent saw it and encouraged Muir to try her luck in Hollywood. She recorded a screen test, and the agent showed it to Warner Bros. which promptly signed her to a contract in 1933.[3][7] She then worked steadily in supporting roles, appearing in 14 films over the next three years.[8] She played opposite many notable actors such as Paul Muni, Richard Barthelmess, Franchot Tone, Joe E. Brown, and Warren William.
However, it wasn't long before Muir incurred the disfavor of Warner Bros. because of her rebellious nature. She would not pose for publicity photographs, nor would she wear makeup or dress stylishly when seen in public.[8] The studio executives were also unhappy with her political activism, "offering financial support to striking lettuce workers in California's Imperial Valley and signing on as an early member of the newly formed Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Not content to simply join the union, Muir marched in its first Labor Day parade, held organizing meetings at her home, and made phone calls to secure picketers ahead of the union's first possible strike."[9]
But perhaps Muir's most troublesome quality was her tendency to question everything, as her biographer Martha Fischer notes:
This new girl immediately made a nuisance of herself around the studio, strolling onto soundstages and interrogating everyone from electricians to lighting directors about their work. In Muir's own telling, she quickly earned the nickname "the studio pest," believing no one too important to be questioned, and never doubting her right to ask. And the questions never stopped. When she was cast in films, Muir questioned her directors, seeking explanations for their orders rather than simply doing as she was told.[9]
One director commented, "That Muir girl drives me crazy. I could cheerfully drown her, but I want her in my next picture."[8] Her behavior led to multiple suspensions by Warner Bros. until finally in 1937, the studio terminated her contract. A Billboard news item at the time said that Muir "had talked herself out of the picture industry".[10]
She packed up her car and drove back to New York to work again in theater.[9] She eventually returned to Hollywood for a few more films, the last being The Constant Nymph (1943), acting alongside Joan Fontaine. Muir was a candidate for the role of Melanie in Gone with the Wind (1939).[11] In 1943, she mostly took a break from acting. Although she obtained two short-lived Broadway jobs in the ensuing years—including a role in Tenting Tonight in 1947[6]—she concentrated on raising her three children.[8] She was lured back to the profession in 1949 to play the role of "Mother Aldrich" in the TV sitcom The Aldrich Family, which was being transferred to the small screen from the popular radio program.
Blacklist
[edit]In 1950, Muir was named as a Communist sympathizer by the notorious pamphlet Red Channels. She was summarily dropped from The Aldrich Family cast.[12] NBC claimed it had received over twenty phone calls protesting her presence on the show. The sponsor, General Foods, said it would not sponsor any programs in which "controversial persons" were featured. Despite receiving more than three thousand letters asking Muir to be reinstated, NBC did not reverse the decision.[13] Muir had the dubious distinction of being the first performer deprived of employment because of a listing in Red Channels.[14] The apparent reason for the listing was that she once held a six-month membership in the Congress of American Women, which federal authorities had labeled a subversive group.[12]
In an attempt to remove herself from the blacklist, Muir volunteered to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). In her testimony on June 15, 1953, she denied ever being a Communist, but she did not deny that she previously supported organizations deemed subversive.[15] Although she chose to be fully cooperative with the committee, it was not enough to satisfy them. Martha Fischer writes:
Afterward, she instantly regretted her choice, not because there was no clearance forthcoming – though there wasn't – but rather because it made her feel like "a craven turncoat against all my principles." This betrayal of everything she believed and stood for was so traumatic that, looking over her testimony with an interviewer twenty years later, Muir was stunned to discover that she had named names. She had completely erased this detail from her memory.[9]
Later years
[edit]After the blacklist finally eased for Muir, she resumed television acting in 1958 when she appeared in an episode of NBC Matinee Theater.[12] She followed that with guest spots on The Witness, Route 66, and Naked City, but by 1962 her acting career was over.
She then embarked on a second career as a drama teacher. She taught and directed plays at two community centers in New York. In 1968, she moved to Missouri and became the Master Acting Teacher at Stephens College, and also directed several productions. She completed her own college degree at Stephens in 1977. Reaching the school's mandatory retirement age forced her to stop teaching there. In 1981, she had a one-year appointment as a drama teacher at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.[16]
Personal life
[edit]On December 20, 1940, Muir married entertainment attorney, and later television producer, Henry Jaffe in New York.[17][18] They had three children.[8] In the mid-1950s, she reportedly suffered from alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver.[2]
Death
[edit]Muir died in a nursing home in Mesa, Arizona, on July 23, 1996, at the age of 85.[12]
Recognition
[edit]Muir has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6280 Hollywood Blvd.[19]
Filmography
[edit]
Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Bureau of Missing Persons | Louise Kane | Uncredited |
| 1933 | Female | Miss Joyce | Uncredited |
| 1933 | The World Changes | Selma Peterson, her granddaughter Selma | |
| 1933 | Son of a Sailor | Helen Farnsworth | |
| 1934 | Bedside | Caroline Grant | |
| 1934 | As the Earth Turns | Jen Shaw | |
| 1934 | A Modern Hero | Joanna Ryan Croy | |
| 1934 | Dr. Monica | Mary Hathaway | |
| 1934 | Desirable | Lois Johnson | |
| 1934 | Gentlemen are Born | Trudy Talbot | |
| 1935 | The White Cockatoo | Sue Talley | |
| 1935 | Oil for the Lamps of China | Alice | |
| 1935 | Orchids to You | Camillia Rand | |
| 1935 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Helena | |
| 1935 | Stars Over Broadway | Nora Wyman | |
| 1936 | Faithful | Marilyn Koster | Warner Bros.-First National Teddington; lost film |
| 1936 | White Fang | Sylvia Burgess | |
| 1936 | Fugitive in the Sky | Rita Moore | |
| 1937 | Once a Doctor | Paula Nordland | |
| 1937 | Her Husband's Secretary | Carol Blane Kingdon | |
| 1937 | The Outcasts of Poker Flat | Miss Helen Colby | |
| 1937 | Draegerman Courage | Ellen Haslett | |
| 1937 | Dance Charlie Dance | Mary Mathews | |
| 1937 | White Bondage | Betsy Ann Craig | |
| 1938 | Jane Steps Out | Beatrice Wilton | |
| 1940 | And One Was Beautiful | Helen Lattimer | |
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | Joan Bradley | |
| 1943 | The Constant Nymph | Kate Sanger |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Starring Boris Karloff | "False Face" | |
| 1949 | Actors Studio | "A Child Is Born" | Clarissa |
| 1949 | The Aldrich Family | "Episode #1" | Mother Aldrich |
| 1950 | The Philco Television Playhouse | "The Sudden Guest" | |
| 1958 | Matinee Theater | "The Story of Marcia Gordon" | |
| 1959 | Naked City | "Hey, Teach!" | Mrs. Kling |
| 1960 | The Witness | "Jack 'Legs' Diamond" | Mrs. Clinton |
| 1961 | Route 66 | "A Bridge Across Five Days" | Beatrice Ware |
| 1962 | Naked City | "The One Marked Hot Gives Cold" | Mrs. Lund |
References
[edit]- ^ Grimes, William (25 July 1996). "Jean Muir, Actress Penalized By 50's Blacklist, Dies at 85". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Vosburgh, Dick, Obituary: Jean Muir. The Independent, August 2, 1996. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ a b "Jean Muir Nearly Starves Before Leaping to Fame". Globe-Gazette. Mason City, Iowa. April 12, 1934. p. 22. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jean Muir: Biography and movies". Notre Cinéma.
- ^ "Model' Girls Are Always Very Much in Demand". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). August 12, 1934. p. 55.
- ^ a b "Jean Muir". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League.
- ^ "Jean Muir's Absence from Screen Is Noted". Detroit Free Press. 5 July 1936. p. 77 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Bergan, Ronald (6 August 1996). "Rebel without the roles". The Guardian. London, England. p. 14. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Fischer, Martha (10 April 2024). "A Difficult Woman: The Disobedient Life of Jean Muir". Bright Lights Film Journal.
- ^ "Film Actors' Peeve at Radio Gossip Takes Squawk to FCC" (PDF). Billboard. 23 January 1937. p. 4.
- ^ Pratt, William (1977). Scarlett Fever: The Ultimate Pictorial Treasury of Gone With the Wind: Featuring the Collection of Herb Bridges. Macmillan. p. 68. ISBN 978-0020125105.
- ^ a b c d Oliver, Myrna (26 July 1996). "Jean Muir; Actress Blacklisted in 1950s". Los Angeles Times. p. A24. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Caute, David (1979). The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower. Touchstone. p. 527. ISBN 0671248480.
- ^ Brown, Jared (1989). Zero Mostel: A Biography. New York: Atheneum. p. 89. ISBN 978-0689119552.
- ^ Vaughn, Robert (1972). Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting (PDF). New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 192–193 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Bryant, Tim (14 January 1981). "Jean Muir Finds Second Career". The Republic. Columbus, Indiana. United Press International. p. B-1. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jean Muir, Film Actress, Marries". Los Angeles Times. December 22, 1940. p. 1. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Henry Jaffe Is Dead; TV Producer Was 85". The New York Times. September 30, 1992. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- ^ Jean Muir, Hollywood Star Walk Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
External links
[edit]
- Jean Muir at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jean Muir at IMDb
- Jean Muir at Virtual history
- Jean Muir Papers at the University of Oregon Libraries
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