CAROLYN JONES BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Carolyn Jones was born on April 28th, 1930 in Amarillo, Texas with the birth name Carolyn Sue Jones.  At the age of four, her father abandoned the family and so her mother moved her and her sister, Bette in with their grandmother in Amarillo.  
 
As a young child she became infatuated with movies and acting.  She earned many awards at school for speak, poetry and dramatics.  She had always dreamed of studying at the Pasadena Playhouse and in 1947, this wish came true.  Carolyn was accepted as a student and her grandfather agreed to cover the financial expense. 

While studying she found work in summer stock to help support herself and she finally graduated in 1950.  She then found work as an understudy at Players Ring Theater where a talent scout from paramount pictures spotted her and offered her a screen test.

She was signed to a contract and her film debut was in the movie, "Turning Point" (1952) followed by some other small roles within her six month contract.  However, when the six months ended due to the impact of television, Paramount did not renew her contract.  

Jones found employment working as a television actress and also continued her stage career.  Carolyn also became acquainted with director, Aaron Spelling and they began dating.  After filming the movie, "House of Wax" (1953) her popularity began to excel.  Her personal life was also doing well as her and Spelling married and decided against children at that time so she could continue to focus on her career.

Her career continued to head in the right direction with roles on films such as, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) and "The Bachelor Party" (1957).  While things were going well for her, Aaron Spelling was not having luck finding work as an actor and she continued to try and push his scripts whenever she could.  She received a Academy Award nomination for her role in, "The Bachelor Party" and then made another impressing performance in the film, "King Creole" (1958) starring Elvis Presley.  This followed by one of her best well known roles in the film, "Career" (1959), which even though she did well, the film as a whole was not so financially successful.  

Soon Spelling's career began to take off which sadly took a toll on the marriage.  In 1963, the marriage came to an end and the couple's divorce was finalized in 1964.  Soon after, she was cast in her most memorable role as Morticia Adams on, "The Adams Family" (1964) which she worked on for two years before it was cancelled by the network. 

Sadly, after this role she became typecast and found it difficult to find other work.  She went into receiving voice coaching and ended up marrying her coach, Herbert S. Greene who convinced her to move with him to Palm Springs, California.  She reluctantly went and lived very unhappily for a total of seven years in the marriage.  They finally divorced and she returned back to Hollywood to pursue her career.

She found work in television on the show, "Fantasy Island" (1977) and the soap opera, "Capital" (1982).  During her time of working on the Soap Opera she was diagnosed with terminally ill cancer but continued to work as much as she could.  Even though she was sick and doing much of her work in a wheelchair, she married for a third time to her current boyfriend, Peter Bailey-Britton in 1982. 

Sadly, on August 3rd, 1983, Jones passed away in West Hollywood, California from the colon cancer.            
 

Filmography

1982-1983  Capitol
1979-1982  Fantasy Island 
1981   Midnight Lace
1977-1981  Quincy M.E.
1980   The Dream Merchants
1979   The French Atlantic Affair
1979   The Love Boat
1979   Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff 
1977   Halloween with the New Addams Family
1977   Eaten Alive 
1976-1977  The New Adventures of Wonder Woman  
1977   Little Ladies of the Night
1977   Roots
1976   Ellery Queen
1975   Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1974   Ironside
1973   The New Perry Mason 
1972   Circle of Fear
1972   The New Scooby-Doo Movies
1971   Dan August
1971   The Virginian
1970   The Name of the Game
1969   Color Me Dead 
1969   Love, American Style 
1969   The Mod Squad
1969   Bracken's World 
1969   Heaven with a Gun 
1967   The Danny Thomas Hour
1967   Rango
1966-1967  Batman
1964-1966  The Addams Family 
1964   The DuPont Show of the Week Jo 
1963-1964  Burke's Law
1957-1963  Wagon Train 
1963   A Ticklish Affair 
1962   How the West Was Won 
1961-1962  The Dick Powell Theatre  
1962   Dr. Kildare
1962   The Lloyd Bridges Show
1962   Frontier Circus
1961   Sail a Crooked Ship 
1957-1961  Zane Grey Theater
1960   The DuPont Show with June Allyson  
1960   Ice Palace 
1959   Career  
1959   Last Train from Gun Hill 
1959   A Hole in the Head 
1959   The David Niven Show 
1959   The Man in the Net 
1958   King Creole 
1958   Marjorie Morningstar
1958   Playhouse 90 
1957   Baby Face Nelson 
1954-1957  Schlitz Playhouse 
1957   Johnny Trouble 
1955-1957  The Millionaire 
1957   Climax!
1957   G.E. True Theater
1957   Panic!
1957   The Bachelor Party 
1957   Wire Service
1955-1957  Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre 
1956   The Opposite Sex 
1956   State Trooper
1955-1956  The 20th Century-Fox Hour 
1956   The Man Who Knew Too Much 
1956   Passport to Danger 
1956   Invasion of the Body Snatchers  
1956   Star Stage 
1955   Alfred Hitchcock Presents 
1955   My Favorite Husband 
1955   The Tender Trap 
1954-1955  Studio 57
1955   The Seven Year Itch 
1955   The Man Behind the Badge 
1954-1955  Dragnet
1954-1955  Treasury Men in Action
1955   The Ray Milland Show: Meet Mr. McNulty 
1954-1955  City Detective 
1954   Four Star Playhouse
1954   Desirée
1954   Three Hours to Kill 
1954   Shield for Murder 
1954   The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse 
1954   The Saracen Blade 
1954   Lux Video Theatre
1952-1954  Mr. & Mrs. North
1954   Make Haste to Live 
1953   Geraldine  
1953   The Big Heat 
1953   House of Wax 
1953   Off Limits 
1952   Road to Bali 
1952   The Turning Point 
1952   Gruen Guild Theater