Shirley Jones papers, 1942-1980

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Summary

Creators:
Jones, Shirley, 1934 March 31
Abstract:
Actress and singer Shirley Jones has appeared in movies like Oklahoma!, The Music Man, and Carousel, and is well known for her role as Shirley Partridge on the television show, The Partridge Family. The collection consists of television scripts, screenplays for produced and unproduced motion pictures, and stage plays related to Jones's career.
Extent:
22.0 linear ft. (53 boxes)
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Shirley Jones Papers (Collection PASC 147). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of television scripts, screenplays for produced and unproduced motion pictures, and stage plays related to the career of actress and singer Shirley Jones. The bulk of the collection are materials related Stoney Point Productions and it is not certain how they relate to Jones' career. Television projects represent the television series The Partridge Family and appearances on television programs such as Ironside, Love American Style, and The Wild Wild West. Produced film scripts include Bunny O'Hare, Cowboy in Africa, Four Friends, Freaky Friday, Harper Valley PTA, and Raggedy Man, among others. Stage plays include Baker Street, Chu Chem, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, The House of Blue Leaves, and Yellow Drum among others. Also included are treatments and story ideas submitted to Stoney Point Productions company.

Notably absent from the collection are materials representing many of the stage and film productions in which Jones was involved including Carousel, The Cheyenne Social Club, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Elmer Gantry, The Music Man, Oklahoma!, and others.

Biographical / historical:

Shirley Mae Jones was born in Smithson, Pennsylvania on March 31, 1934. Shortly after graduating from high school, she won Miss Pittsburgh beauty competition(1952) and was named first runner-up in the Miss Pennsylvania Pageant, which earned her a scholarship to the Pittsburgh Playhouse. She made her Broadway debut in Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein's South Pacific (1953). In 1954, Rogers and Hammerstein arranged for Jones to audition for the film version of Oklahoma! ; she had landed the lead role of Laurey, and her film career was on its way. Jones was featured in popular musicals of the 1950s, including Carousel (1956), April Love (1957), and Never Steal Anything Small (1959).

After a television appearance in The Big Slide, a 1956 crime drama produced as part of Playhouse 90 , she was cast in Elmer Gantry (1960), for which she won an Academy Award as best supporting actress. Additional film credits include The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), The Music Man (1962), and The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), among others. Jones often appeared on stage, television, and night clubs with her late husband, singer Jack Cassidy.

Her television movie debut in Silent Night, Lonely Night (1969), earned her the first of three Emmy Award nominations. In the early 1970s, Jones was at the center of a teen music and television phenomenon, with for her role as Mother, Shirley Partridge, on the television musical sitcom The Partridge Family. Jones' career remained active from the 1970s to the 2000s with frequent guest appearances on television series and roles in television movies and stage productions.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Television Projects
  2. Produced Motion Picture Projects
  3. Film Scripts and Treatments
  4. Play Scripts

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Shirley Jones Papers (Collection PASC 147). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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