Talented character player and occasional lead with a distinctive alto voice and enormous eyes. Most typically in offbeat roles, Jones received an Oscar nomination for her supporting turn as a quirky, artsy type encountered by a group of men out on the town in "The Bachelor Party" (1957). At one time the wife of producer Aaron Spelling, Jones is best remembered for her highly amusing characterization of the deliberately ghoulish Morticia on the ABC TV sitcom "The Addams Family" (1964-66).
Education
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Pasadena Community Playhouse, Pasadena, California, 1950
Milestones
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1950 Met future husband Aaron Spelling, who susequently cast her in the stage production, "The Live Wire"
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1951 TV debut, performed on "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
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1952 Signed contract with Paramount, and made feature debut in William Dieterle's "The Turning Point"
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1956 First worked with husband Aaron Spelling, "Zane Grey Theater"; a TV series he produced and wrote for
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1961 Featured as the deceased model title character in the TV pilot, "Amos Burke: Who Killed Julie Greer"
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1964 Entered TV fame with her portrayal of Morticia Addams in the ever-popular series, "The Addams Family"
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1977 Final TV-movie, "Little Ladies of the Night"
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1977 TV miniseries debut, "Roots"
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1979 Final collaboration with Aaron Spelling, "The French Atlantic Affair"
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1979 Final feature, "Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff"
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1982 Final TV appearance as Myrna Clegg on the CBS daytime soap "Capitol"
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Made stage debut in the 1940s