Shirley Jones

Actress

"Every once in a while, I would find some young 16, 15, 14-year-old sitting on my lawn, just off a bus from Iowa, Michigan or someplace, saying, 'I’ve come to be in The Partridge Family. I want to be in your band.' ...I just had to tell them the truth and say, 'listen, this is a television show. We don’t have a band."

About This Interview

In her Archive of American Television interview, actress Shirley Jones spoke about her early career, her discovery by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and her television debut on Playhouse 90, which lead to Burt Lancaster casting her in her Academy Award-winning role in Elmer Gantry. She talked about working on the feature film The Music Man and other features. She talked in-depth about her first series role as Shirley Partridge on The Partridge Family and discussed working with her stepson and co-star, David Cassidy. She then discussed the many made-for-television movies she has made including: The Children of An Lac, There Were Times Dear and Hidden Places. She also commented on her work on The Drew Carey Show, where she played Drew’s love-interest for three episodes. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on December 7, 2005.