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Jean Byron

Jean Byron

Acting

Biography

Jean Byron (born Imogene Audette Burkhart; December 10, 1925 – February 3, 2006, Height 5 feet 9 inches [1.75 meters]) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was best known for the role of Natalie Lane, Patty Lane's mother in the sitcom The Patty Duke Show. Byron was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and raised in Louisville. She began her career as a singer on radio, and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. She made her film debut in 1952's Voodoo Tiger. She appeared in several other films, including The Magnetic Monster (1953), Serpent of the Nile (1953), and The Opposite Sex (1956). Byron's most famous role was as Natalie Lane on The Patty Duke Show. She appeared in all three seasons of the show, from 1963 to 1966. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1964. After The Patty Duke Show, Byron continued to work in television, appearing in shows such as The Wild Wild West, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote. She also appeared in several films, including The Sting (1973) and The Muppet Movie (1979). Byron retired from acting in the early 1990s. She died in Mobile, Alabama, in 2006, at the age of 80. In addition to her acting career, Byron was also a talented singer and dancer. She was a member of the Actors Studio and the Screen Actors Guild. She was also a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Known For

Matinee Theater
5.3

Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets. Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled: When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is his own set decorator —yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.

Matinee Theater

1955Series
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
6.3

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and several episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, who had also written a feature film adaptation of his short stories for MGM in 1953, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis. The series revolved around the life of teenager/young adult Dobie Gillis, who, along with his best friend, beatnik Maynard G. Krebs, struggles against the forces of his life - high school, the military, college, and his parents - as he aspires to attain both wealth and dates with girls. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was produced by Martin Manulis Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Creator Shulman also wrote the theme song in collaboration with Lionel Newman.

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

1959Series
The Detectives
6.7

The Detectives is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons, and on NBC during its third and final season. The series, starring motion picture star Robert Taylor, was produced by Four Star Television. Captain Matt Holbrook (Robert Taylor) is head of the detective division of a large metropolitan police force—a man whose devotion to duty, professional brilliance, and quick judgment are reflected in his 20-year career on the force. His aides, Lt. Johnny Russo (Tige Andrews), Lt. Otto Lindstrom (Russ Thorson), and Sgt. Chris Ballard (Mark Goddard) form a team that is both proficient and warmly human. The stories stress the interrelationships between the men as well as the solutions to crimes and the apprehension of criminals, adding a dimension of human drama to the excitement, action, and suspense inherent in each story of the detectives' difficult, sometimes thankless, and frequently dangerous assignments.

The Detectives

1959Series