Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress. She was also the wife of the late Marty Ingels. For Disney, she portrayed Aunt Polly in both The Adventures of Pollyanna and Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. She also played Linda Duncan in Good Luck Charlie.
Jones was born on March 31, 1934, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania and later moved to the small nearby town of Smithton, Pennsylvania. Jones began singing at the age of six in the Methodist Church choir and took voice lessons from Ralph Lewando. Upon attending South Huntingdon High School in Ruffs Dale, Pennsylvania, she participated in school plays and won the Miss Pittsburgh contest in 1952.
She began auditioning for plays in the late 1940s where she encountered Rodgers and Hammerstien who cast her a minor role in South Pacific. Later, she appeared in film adaptations of their musicals Oklahoma and Carousel before appearing in films, like The Music Man, April Love, Never Steal Anything Small, Pepe, Fluffy, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Bedtime Story, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, and Elmer Gantry, where she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Her television credits include Lux Video Theatre, The Carol Burnett Show, The Partridge Family, McMillan & Wife, Shirley, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, Melrose Place, The Drew Carey Show, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Days of Our Lives, Ruby & The Rockits, Raising Hope, Victorious, Cougar Town, Hot in Cleveland, and General Hospital.
Roles[]
(The Adventures of Pollyanna)
Trivia[]
- She among many actresses considered for the lead role in Mary Poppins.
