Jean Hagen

Born: 1923-08-03

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jean Hagen (born Jean Shirley Verhagen, August 3, 1923 – August 29, 1977) was an American actress best known for her role as Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain (1952), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Hagen was also nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Margaret Williams (1953–56) on the television series Make Room For Daddy. Her film debut was as a comical femme fatale in the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn 1949 classic Adam's Rib, directed by George Cukor. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) provided Hagen with her first starring role alongside Sterling Hayden. Hagen received excellent reviews playing "Doll" Conover, a woman who sticks by criminal Dix's side until the bitter end. She appeared too in the film noir Side Street (1950) playing a gangster's sincere but none-too-bright nightclub-singer girlfriend. Hagen is best remembered for her comic performance in Singin' in the Rain as the vain and talentless silent movie star Lina Lamont. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for this memorable performance. By 1953, she had joined the cast of the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy. For her portrayal as the first wife of Danny Thomas, Hagen received three Emmy Award nominations, but after three seasons, she grew dissatisfied with the role and left the series. Thomas, who also produced the show, reportedly did not appreciate Hagen's departing the successful series, and her character was killed off rather than recast. This was the first TV character to be killed off in a family sitcom. Marjorie Lord was cast a year later as Danny's second wife and played opposite Thomas successfully for the remainder of the series. In 1957 Hagen co-starred in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "Enough Rope for Two", portraying a woman who accompanies two thieves trying to retrieve stolen money from a desert mine shaft. She then appeared as Elizabeth in the 1960 episode "Once Upon a Knight" on CBS's anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson; and the following year she guest-starred on The Andy Griffith Show in the episode "Andy and the Woman Speeder". Although she made frequent guest appearances in various television series, Hagen was unable to successfully resume her film career in starring roles. After appearing with Fred MacMurray in the Disney comedy The Shaggy Dog (1959), Hagen for the remainder of her career played supporting roles, such as Marguerite LeHand, personal secretary to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello (1960), and the friend of Bette Davis in Dead Ringer (1964). In the 1960s, Hagen's health began to decline and she spent many years hospitalized or under medical care. Much later, in 1976, she made a comeback of sorts playing character roles in episodes of the television series Starsky and Hutch and The Streets of San Francisco. She, however, made her final acting appearance the next year in the television movie Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn.


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Singin' in the Rain

as Lina Lamont
Released: 1952-04-09

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

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The Asphalt Jungle

as Doll Conovan
Released: 1950-05-12

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo...

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The Shaggy Dog

as Freeda Daniels
Released: 1959-03-19

Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at...

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Adam's Rib

as Beryl Caighn
Released: 1949-11-18

A woman's attempted murder of her uncaring husband results in everyday quarrels in the lives of...

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Dead Ringer

as Dede Marshall
Released: 1964-02-19

The working class twin sister of a callous wealthy woman impulsively murders her out of revenge...

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Panic in Year Zero!

as Ann Baldwin
Released: 1962-07-05

While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los...

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The Big Knife

as Connie Bliss
Released: 1955-10-25

Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to...

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A Life of Her Own

as Maggie Collins
Released: 1950-09-01

A young woman from Kansas moves to New York City, becomes highly successful at a prestigious...

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Arena

as Meg Hutchins
Released: 1953-06-24

Left by his wife, a vain rodeo star picks up a floozy and rides a bad Brahman bull.

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Ambush

as Martha Conovan
Released: 1950-01-13

A Westerner searches for a white woman held by the Apaches.

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Side Street

as Harriette Sinton
Released: 1950-03-23

A struggling young father-to-be gives in to temptation and impulsively steals an envelope of...

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Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn

as Landlady
Released: 1977-05-16

In this sequel to Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, Alexander's story is told in both the...

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No Questions Asked

as Joan Brenson
Released: 1951-06-15

With the help of some seedy gangsters, young attorney Steve Keiver makes some quick cash by...

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Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2002-09-24

American Masters Series. Documentary on Gene Kelly that gives insight into his dancing, how he...

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Carbine Williams

as Maggie Williams
Released: 1952-05-01

David Marshall Williams is sent to a prison farm where he works in the tool shop and eventually...

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Sunrise at Campobello

as Missy Le Hand
Released: 1960-09-28

The story of Franklin Roosevelt's bout with polio at age 40 in 1921 and how his family (and...

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Shadow in the Sky

as Stella Murphy
Released: 1952-07-18

Burt, a Marine suffering from Battle Fatigue, is deathly afraid of rain and confined to an...

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The Snows of Kilimanjaro

as Rhoda
Released: 1960-03-25

A writer reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection after a safari in the shadow of...

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Latin Lovers

as Anne Kellwood
Released: 1953-08-12

An heiress searches for true love while vacationing in Brazil.

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Night Into Morning

as Girl Next Door
Released: 1951-06-08

Berkeley university professor adjusts (using alcohol) to tragic fire deaths of wife & son.

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Half a Hero

as Martha Dobson
Released: 1953-05-11

A man moves his family from the big city to the suburbs.

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Spring Reunion

as Barna Forrest
Released: 1957-03-01

A spinster finally finds the right man when she returns to her alma mater after 15 years for a...

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The Andy Griffith Show

as Elizabeth Crowley
First aired: 1960-10-03

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and...

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Wagon Train

as Maidie Brant
First aired: 1957-09-18

The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later...

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Wagon Train

as Sarah Proctor
First aired: 1957-09-18

The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later...

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Climax!

as Eleanor Gehrig
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Ben Casey

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-10-02

Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was...

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Dr. Kildare

as Nurse Mary Ogilvy
First aired: 1961-09-27

The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession,...

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Starsky & Hutch

as Belle Kates
First aired: 1975-09-10

Streetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch'...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Anne Madden
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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The Detectives

as Alice Streger
First aired: 1959-10-16

The Detectives is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons,...

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The Ford Television Theatre

as Nona Carson
First aired: 1952-10-02

This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to...

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Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-10-06

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu...

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The Streets of San Francisco

as Ms. Unger
First aired: 1972-09-23

Two police officers, the older Lt. Stone and the young upstart Inspector Keller, investigate...

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The DuPont Show with June Allyson

as Elizabeth
First aired: 1959-09-21

The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from...

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Madge Griffin
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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The Danny Thomas Show

as Margaret Williams
First aired: 1953-09-29

Danny Thomas, an entertainer, tries to balance his home life with the needs of his career, with...

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Stagecoach West

as Lilly de Milo
First aired: 1960-10-04

Stagecoach West is an American Western drama television series which ran for thirty-eight...

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General Electric Theater

as Paula Farrel
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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