Jean Stapleton

Stapleton married William Putch on October 26, 1957, during the production of the musical ‘Bells Are Ringing.’ He directed a summer stock theater, ‘Totem Pole Play House,’ in Caledonia State Park in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania.

Her husband died in 1983.

Stapleton died of natural causes on May 31, 2013, in New York City. She was 90 years old at the time of her death. ‘Broadway’ had dimmed the marquee lights for one minute on June 5, 2013, in honor of her memory. She is survived by her daughter, TV producer Pamela Putch, and her son, John Putch, an actor, writer, and director.

Jean Stapleton was born Jeanne Murray, on January 19, 1923, in Manhattan, New York. Her father, Joseph Edward Murray, was an advertising salesman. Her mother, Marie A. (née Stapleton), was a concert and opera singer. Jean followed in her mother’s footsteps.

She attended the ‘Wadleigh High School’ in New York City. She graduated in 1939 and then joined ‘Hunter College.’ After completing her studies, Stapleton worked as a typist and secretary while taking theater classes at night.

Later, she changed her name and took her mother’s maiden name. Her older brother, who was a theater actor, had changed his name to “Jack Stapleton.” Actor Betty Jane Watson was her cousin.

She did a work–study apprenticeship at the ‘American Actors’ Company’ and also performed with them. In the touring company of ‘Come Back, Little Sheba,’ she worked as an understudy for Shirley Booth. She also worked opposite Frank Fay in ‘Harvey.’

Stapleton started her career in 1941, with summer stock theater, at the ‘Greenwood Play House,' Peaks Island, Maine. Her New York debut was an ‘Off-Broadway’ play called ‘American Gothic.’

She made her ‘Broadway’ debut in 1953, with Jane Bowles’s play ‘In the Summer House,’ directed by Jose Quintero. ‘Damn Yankees’ (1955), was one of her most successful ‘Broadway’ musicals.

She gave a number of melodious musical performances. In the 1950s, she was the part of the original cast of the ‘Broadway’ production ‘Bells Are Ringing.’ In the 1960s, she performed with Barbra Streisand in ‘Funny Girl’ and came up with the songs ‘If a Girl Isn’t Pretty’ and ‘Find Yourself a Man.’

Apart from her musicals, she also did other ‘Broadway’ plays such as ‘Rhinoceros’ in 1961, which was a farce by Eugene Ionesco. She acted in a revival of ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ in 1987.

Stapleton reprised her roles in the movie versions of ‘Damn Yankees’ (1958), and ‘Bells Are Ringing’ (1960). She was also a part of the film ‘Something Wild’ in 1961 and essayed the role of a secretary in the 1971 thriller ‘Klute,’ starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland.

She was considered as one of the leading women in the TV comedies of the 1970s. She is best remembered for her portrayal of a slow-witted, good-at-heart, submissive housewife in the TV series ‘All in the Family.’

In 1978, Stapleton was named as one of the forty members of the ‘National Commission’ on the observance of ‘International Women’s Year.’ She had also worked with screenwriter Rhoda Lerman, to preserve Mrs. Roosevelt’s New York home.

After completing her last acting assignment in 2001, she continued with her social activities, especially at the ‘Woman’s Research & Education Institute.’ She focused on the issues affecting women.