Jayne Meadows

One of four children (two older brothers, one younger sister) born to American missionaries, 'Jayne Meadows' (qv) (née Jane Cotter) was born September 27, 1919, in China. The family returned to the US in the early 1930s wherein Jayne was forced to learn the English language, speaking Chinese and other foreign languages at the time. Settling in Sharon, Connecticut, her father, Rev. Francis James Meadows Cotter, was appointed rector of Christ Church.Jayne would develop an early interest in acting, making her Broadway debut with the comedy "Spring Again" (1941), followed by "Another Love Story" (1943), "The Odds on Mrs. Oakley" (1944), "Many Happy Returns" and "Kiss Them for Me" (1945). This led to a post-WWII, MGM contract in which her icy glare and imposing stance frequently made her the perfect manipulating "other woman" in such "B" heavy drama as _Undercurrent (1946)_ (qv), _Lady in the Lake (1946)_ (qv), _Dark Delusion (1947)_ (qv), _Enchantment (1948)_ (qv), _The Fat Man (1951)_ (qv) and as Michal in the biblical film _David and Bathsheba (1951)_ (qv). She occasionally was featured in lighter feature film fare as well, including _Song of the Thin Man (1947)_ (qv) and _The Luck of the Irish (1948)_ (qv).Not satisfactorily moving up the credits ladder in films as she hoped, Jayne sought work elsewhere in the early 1950's, especially in the new medium of TV. She became one of Hollywood's more glittery personalities on TV and variety programs, and a sparkling guest panelist on such popular TV game shows as "The Name's the Same, "Masquerade Party, "What's My Line," "To Tell the Truth" and "Password." At one point, she was a regular member of the celebrity panel on _I've Got a Secret (1952)_ (qv).Divorced from film and TV writer 'Milton Krims' (qv) after six years, Jayne met her witty match when she married actor/comedian 'Steve Allen' (qv) in 1954. They formed an extremely strong personal and professional relationship which would encompass stage ("Love Letters", in which they co-starred on and off for 11 years), film (_College Confidential (1960)_ (qv), and especially TV (_Meeting of Minds (1977)_ (qv)). Jayne supported Steve as a regular/guest on many of his comedy series ventures, including The 'Steve Allen' (qv) Plymouth Show (1951), The New 'Steve Allen' (qv) Show (1961), The 'Steve Allen' (qv) Playhouse (1962) and The 'Steve Allen' (qv) Comedy Hour (1967). They appeared as themselves in the film _The Player (1992)_ (qv) they did not appear as themselves in the amusing TV movie _Now You See It, Now You Don't (1968)_ (qv) and the all-star TV version of _Alice in Wonderland (1985)_ (qv).Jayne's solo work took a deliberate back seat. Usually playing elegant sophisticates, she cameoed in such films as the ribald comedy _Norman... Is That You? (1976)_ (qv); the crime thriller _Murder by Numbers (1990)_ (qv); as 'Billy Crystal' (qv)'s mother in the comedies _City Slickers (1991)_ (qv) and _City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994)_ (qv); and made an appearance in what would become her last feature film _The Story of Us (1999)_ (qv).Over a three-decade period, Jayne appeared in a number of TV movies, including _James Dean (1976)_ (qv), _Sex and the Married Woman (1977)_ (qv), _Miss All-American Beauty (1982)_ (qv), _A Masterpiece of Murder (1986)_ (qv) and _Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon (1989)_ (qv). She also guested on numerous established programs as well -- "Here Comes the Bride," "Here's Lucy," "Adam-12," "Switch," "Hawaii 5-O," "Matt Houston," "Fantasy Island," "Murder, She Wrote," "The Love Boat," "St. Elsewhere," "The Bold and the Beautiful," "The Nanny" and "Diagnosis Murder." Steady roles on prime-time TV series would include a recurring part as Nurse Chambers on the medical program _Medical Center (1969)_ (qv), as well as regular roles on the sitcoms _It's Not Easy (1982)_ (qv) and _High Society (1995)_ (qv), the latter for which she earned an Emmy nomination for "Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy."Known for her infectious laugh and joie de vivre, Jayne's confidence grew to include writing stage plays, teleplays, books, and columns. For the most part, however, she was Allen's creative and dedicated business partner for 46 years until his death in 2000. Younger sister 'Audrey Meadows' (qv), of _The Honeymooners (1955)_ (qv) TV fame, died in 1996. Jayne died on April 26, 2015, in Los Angeles, at age 95.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]