
Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton was born Jeanne Murray in Manhattan, New York City, to Marie A. (Stapleton), an opera singer, and Joseph Edward Murray, a billboard advertising salesman. Her paternal grandparents were Irish. She was a cousin of actress Betty Jane Watson. Other relatives in show business were her uncle, Joseph E. Deming, a vaudevillian; and her brother Jack Stapleton, a stage actor. She graduated from Wadleigh High School, NYC, in 1939, and attended Hunter College. She worked as a secretary before becoming an actress. Stapleton made her stage debut at the Greenwood Playhouse, Peaks Island, Maine, in the summer of 1941, and her New York stage debut in "The Corn Is Green" (1948). She appeared on Broadway in the musicals "Damn Yankees" (1955) and "Bells Are Ringing" (1956), and later repeated her roles in the movie versions (Damn Yankees (1958) and Bells Are Ringing (1960)). Her other Broadway roles included the original companies of "Rhinoceros" (1961) and "Funny Girl" (1964). Stapleton also played Abby Brewster in the 1986-87 revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace".
88 acting credits
Acting · 88

Saturday Night Live
1975

The Mike Douglas Show
1961

Golden Globe Awards
1944

The Love Boat
1977

Great Performances
1971

The Philco Television Playhouse
1948

Dr. Kildare
1961

Everybody Loves Raymond
1996

Touched by an Angel
1994

Robert Montgomery Presents
1950

Tony Awards
1956

Naked City
1958

The Merv Griffin Show
1962

The Carol Burnett Show
1967

My Three Sons
1960

Route 66
1960

Caroline in the City
1995

The Defenders
1961

The Dick Cavett Show
1968

Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983

All in the Family
1971

Intimate Portrait
1993

Murphy Brown
1988

Dinah!
1974

Faerie Tale Theatre
1982

Dennis the Menace
1959

Grace Under Fire
1993

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968

The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985

The Muppet Show
1976

The Electric Company
1971

The Patty Duke Show
1963
Lux Video Theatre
1950

The Eleventh Hour
1962

Beakman's World
1992

The Nurses
1962

Cher
1975

The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996

You've Got Mail
1998

Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992

Style & Substance
1998

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951

Michael
1996

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
1998

Bagdad Cafe
1990

E! True Hollywood Story
1996

Klute
1971
Woman With A Past
1954

The Last Laugh
2016
Trying Times
1987
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
2003

Dead Man's Folly
1986

The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
1994

Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
1990

Something Wild
1961

Bells Are Ringing
1960

Baby
2000

Tail Gunner Joe
1977

You Can't Take it With You
1979

Cold Turkey
1971

Up the Down Staircase
1967

Lily Dale
1996

Fire in the Dark
1991

The Trial
1993

Angel Dusted
1981

The Habitation of Dragons
1992

Pursuit of Happiness
2001

Cinderella
1985

Damn Yankees
1958

Aunt Mary
1979

The Television Revolution Begins: "All in the Family" Is On the Air
2009

The Buddy System
1984
TV Land Top 10
2004

Chance of a Lifetime
1998

Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
1985

Bury Me in Niagara
1993

Acts of Love and Other Comedies
1973

Isabel's Choice
1981

Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes
2001

All in the Family: 20th Anniversary Special
1991

Eleanor, First Lady of the World
1982

A Matter of Sex
1984

Those Were the Days: The Birth of "All in the Family"
2009

Jack and the Beanstalk
1983

Funny Ladies: A Portrait of Women Cartoonists
1991
Good Evening Captain
1981

Something's Afoot
1982