Shirley Jones

Few performers are as indelibly linked to the great American movie musical as Shirley Jones. In an extraordinary career spanning more than six decades, Shirley has starred in over 30 motion pictures, including three of the most iconic film musicals of all time: Oklahoma! (1955), Carousel (1956), and The Music Man (1962). In addition, she won an Academy Award for a starkly dramatic role in Richard Brooks’s Elmer Gantry (1960); played the lead in the immensely popular musical television series The Partridge Family; appeared on Broadway opposite her late Tony Award-winning husband, Jack Cassidy; sang for nine presidents; raised three accomplished sons; and is currently helping to nurture ten wildly independent grandchildren. Not bad for a beer salesman’s daughter from western Pennsylvania.

Shirley’s films include The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963) with Glenn Ford, Bedtime Story (1964) with Marlon Brando and David Niven, Never Steal Anything Small (1959) with James Cagney, and The Cheyenne Social Club (1970) with James Stewart and Henry Fonda. In the role of mother to real-life stepson David Cassidy on The Partridge Family, Shirley experienced the kind of pop-culture success she’d rarely seen in her motion picture career, while later starring in numerous television movies and enjoying recurring roles on Raising Hope and The Drew Carey Show (as Drew Carey’s girlfriend!). Shirley was a big hit in the motion picture comedy Grandma’s Boy (2006), produced by Adam Sandler, and recently made a triumphant return to Broadway, opposite her son, Patrick, in 42nd Street. She is thrilled to be participating in Warner Bros.’ 100th anniversary and, as the woman President Reagan dubbed the “First Lady of American Song,” she is honored to be sharing this centennial celebration with so many great artists who have inspired her.