Jean Byron(1925-2006)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
A true sunny delight, actress Jean Byron will be fondly remembered for
her three-season-long role as vivacious "Natalie Lane", the grounding
mom of "identical cousin" Patty Duke on
The Patty Duke Show (1963),
the one who was always around to help teenage Patty regroup when "a hot
dog made her lose control". Jean was born with the unlikely marquee
name of Imogene Burkhart in Paducah, Kentucky, in 1925. Musically
inclined, she was a teen singer on radio before even graduating from
high school. Her family subsequently moved to California which only
spurred on Jean's interest in show business. Apprenticing on the local
stage and continuing to work on radio, she earned her first contract
with Columbia Pictures and chose the more adaptable name of Jean Byron
for billing purposes.
Her movie career began uneventfully in 1952, co-starring with
Johnny Weissmuller, in
Voodoo Tiger (1952), one of a series
of "Jungle Jim" adventure programmers. Uninspired roles, opposite a
radioactive creature in
The Magnetic Monster (1953)
and as a handmaiden to Rhonda Fleming's
"Cleopatra" in
Serpent of the Nile (1953),
had her wisely leaning towards TV as a more viable medium. Not only did
she appear on the top TV shows of the day, but seemed to have an
affinity for westerns, finding a steady stream of work on such programs
as Yancy Derringer (1958),
Fury (1955),
My Friend Flicka (1955),
Cheyenne (1955) and
Laramie (1959) to her credit. The
wholesome-looking blonde with the lovely, peaches-and-cream complexion
also became a mild household fixture as an on-camera spokeswoman for
such products as Revlon and Lux soap. At one time, she was known as
"The Lux Girl". She earned a couple of recurring roles on
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959)
comedy before solidifying her status on
The Patty Duke Show (1963)
from 1963 to 1966.
Following the series' demise, Jean was seen less and less, glimpsed
here and there on late 60s and 70s TV. She also appeared on the dinner
theater circuit and in musical stage shows, portraying "Mama Rose" in
one production of "Gypsy". Retiring in the 1980s, she moved with her
aged mother to Mobile, Alabama in the late 1980s to be closer to
extended family. Her final appearance was a happy occasion with a
nostalgic TV-movie reunion show that brought her back in touch with
former cast members Patty Duke and TV husband
William Schallert, among others, in
1999. The reunion took 33 years in the making, one for the TV record
books. At one time, she was briefly married to handsome actor
Michael Ansara, she had no children and
never remarried. Jean died at age 80 after developing an infection
following surgery for a hip replacement. She was buried in Mobile
Memorial Gardens.
her three-season-long role as vivacious "Natalie Lane", the grounding
mom of "identical cousin" Patty Duke on
The Patty Duke Show (1963),
the one who was always around to help teenage Patty regroup when "a hot
dog made her lose control". Jean was born with the unlikely marquee
name of Imogene Burkhart in Paducah, Kentucky, in 1925. Musically
inclined, she was a teen singer on radio before even graduating from
high school. Her family subsequently moved to California which only
spurred on Jean's interest in show business. Apprenticing on the local
stage and continuing to work on radio, she earned her first contract
with Columbia Pictures and chose the more adaptable name of Jean Byron
for billing purposes.
Her movie career began uneventfully in 1952, co-starring with
Johnny Weissmuller, in
Voodoo Tiger (1952), one of a series
of "Jungle Jim" adventure programmers. Uninspired roles, opposite a
radioactive creature in
The Magnetic Monster (1953)
and as a handmaiden to Rhonda Fleming's
"Cleopatra" in
Serpent of the Nile (1953),
had her wisely leaning towards TV as a more viable medium. Not only did
she appear on the top TV shows of the day, but seemed to have an
affinity for westerns, finding a steady stream of work on such programs
as Yancy Derringer (1958),
Fury (1955),
My Friend Flicka (1955),
Cheyenne (1955) and
Laramie (1959) to her credit. The
wholesome-looking blonde with the lovely, peaches-and-cream complexion
also became a mild household fixture as an on-camera spokeswoman for
such products as Revlon and Lux soap. At one time, she was known as
"The Lux Girl". She earned a couple of recurring roles on
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959)
comedy before solidifying her status on
The Patty Duke Show (1963)
from 1963 to 1966.
Following the series' demise, Jean was seen less and less, glimpsed
here and there on late 60s and 70s TV. She also appeared on the dinner
theater circuit and in musical stage shows, portraying "Mama Rose" in
one production of "Gypsy". Retiring in the 1980s, she moved with her
aged mother to Mobile, Alabama in the late 1980s to be closer to
extended family. Her final appearance was a happy occasion with a
nostalgic TV-movie reunion show that brought her back in touch with
former cast members Patty Duke and TV husband
William Schallert, among others, in
1999. The reunion took 33 years in the making, one for the TV record
books. At one time, she was briefly married to handsome actor
Michael Ansara, she had no children and
never remarried. Jean died at age 80 after developing an infection
following surgery for a hip replacement. She was buried in Mobile
Memorial Gardens.