People We Love: Shirley Jones

Shirley Jones, Born on March 31, 1934

Shirley Jones, Born on March 31, 1934

American singer and acress Shirley Jones was born on this day in 1934. Her career spans six decades in which she starred in musicals such as Oklahoma! Carousel and The Music Man. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Elmer Gantry in 1960.

Many remember her as Shirley Partridge, the widowed mother of five and the leader of a singing group called The Partridge Family. She co-starred with her stepson, David Cassidy.

Shirley Jones went to her first Broadway audition at the recommendation of her voice teacher. She went to New York with $100 and vowed if she did not succeed she would return to Pennsylvania and become a veterinarian.

In New York she auditioned for the casting director for Rodgers and Hammerstein. The casting director was so impressed he called in Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Shirley Jones became the first and only singer to be put under personal contract with the songwriters.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.