Profile of Shirley Jones on Famous Like Me

Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934 in Charleroi, Pennsylvania of Welsh descent) is a singer and actress, perhaps best known for her starring role as "Shirley Partridge," the widowed mother of 5 children, in the television series The Partridge Family, in which, ironically she played the mother of David Cassidy, who was her real-life stepson.

An only child, she was named after Shirley Temple. She won a beauty pageant as a teenager and was crowned "Miss Pittsburgh 1952."

Before The Partridge Family, Shirley had already achieved fame as a singer and actress. She starred in many films, including the highly successful musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, and The Music Man. In a rare "naughty girl" role, she won an Academy Award as a prostitute corrupted by Burt Lancaster, who then takes revenge upon him in Elmer Gantry.

She married actor Jack Cassidy on August 5, 1956, with whom she had 3 sons, Shaun, Patrick and Ryan; David Cassidy became her stepson. Shirley and David both starred in The Partridge Family. Divorcing Cassidy, she married one-time comic Marty Ingels on November 13, 1977. Despite several separations (she filed then withdrew a divorce petition in 2002) and amazingly different personalities, they remain married.

Although best known for her movie and television roles, Shirley has an impressive stage résumé, including the musical Maggie Flynn on Broadway and a stellar turn in a rare revival of Noel Coward's operetta Bitter Sweet at the Long Beach Civic Light Opera in 1983. In 2004, Shirley returned to Broadway in a revival of 42nd Street, portraying diva "Dorothy Brock" (played by Bebe Daniels in the 1933 movie), opposite her son, Patrick Cassidy, the first known time a mother and son starred together on Broadway. In July 2005, Shirley revisited the musical Carousel onstage in Massachusetts portraying Cousin Nettie.

She is a registered Republican who appeared at the 1988 Republican Convention and sang the National Anthem. She also sang at the 2003 Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington, D.C., at George W. Bush's request.

Filmography

• Oklahoma! (1955)
• Carousel (1956)
• April Love (1957)
• Never Steal Anything Small (1959)
• Bobbikins (1960)
• Elmer Gantry (1960)
• Pepe (1960)
• Two Rode Together (1961)
• The Music Man (1962)
• The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)
• A Ticklish Affair (1963)
• Dark Purpose (1964)
• Bedtime Story (1964)
• Fluffy (1965)
• The Secret of My Success (1965)
• The Gulf (1969)
• The Happy Ending (1969)
• Oddly Coupled (1970)
• The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
• Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
• Tank (1984)
• Cops n Roberts (1995) (Cameo)
• This Is My Father (1998) (documentary)
• Gideon (1999)
• The Adventures of Cinderella's Daughter (2000)
• Ping! (2000)
• Manna from Heaven (film) (2002)
• The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park (2004)
• Raising Genius (2004)
• Nana's Boy (2006) (currently filming)

TV work

• Out of the Blue (1968)
• Silent Night, Lonely Night (1969)
• The Partridge Family (1970-1974)
• But I Don't Want to Get Married! (1970)
• The Girls of Huntington House (1973)
• The Family Nobody Wanted (1975)
• Winner Take All (1975)
• The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975)
• Yesterday's Child (1977)
• Evening in Byzantium (1978)
• Who'll Save Our Children? (1978)
• A Last Cry for Help (1979)
• Shirley (1979-1980)
• The Children of An Lac (1980)
• Inmates: A Love Story (1981)
• The Adventures of Pollyanna (1982)
• There Were Times, Dear (1987)
• Charlie (1989)
• Deadly Games (1995)
• Dog's Best Friend (1997)
• Melrose Place (cast member in 1998)

Stage work

• South Pacific (1953) (Broadway, ensemble role)
• Me and Juliet (1954) (Chicago and National Tour)
• Oklahoma! (1956) (European tour with Jack Cassidy)
• The Beggar's Opera (1957) (with Jack Cassidy)
• Maggie Flynn (1967) (Broadway with Jack Cassidy)
• Wait Until Dark (1967) (with Jack Cassidy)
• The Marriage Band (1972) (with Jack Cassidy)
• On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1974)
• Show Boat (1976)
• The Sound of Music (1977)
• Bitter Sweet (1982)
• Love Letters (1994) (with Marty Ingels)
• The King & I (1994)
• Love Letters (1995) (with Marty Ingels)
• 42nd Street (2004) (Broadway with Patrick Cassidy)
• Carousel (2005)

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