Irene Hervey

Irene Hervey (born Beulah Irene Herwick; July 11, 1909 – December 20, 1998) was an American film, stage, and television actress who appeared in over fifty films and numerous television series spanning her five-decade career.

A native of Los Angeles, Hervey was trained in her youth by British stage and film actress Emma Dunn, a friend of her mother. She signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1933, appearing in several films for the studioincluding The Stranger's Return (1933), opposite Lionel Barrymore, before landing a supporting role as Valentine de Villefort in United Artists' The Count of Monte Cristo (1934). She signed a contract with Universal Pictures, appearing in numerous films for the studio, including the Western Destry Rides Again (1939) opposite Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, the mystery The House of Fear (1939), and the musical The Boys from Syracuse (1940), the latter of which she appeared opposite her then-husband Allan Jones.

She appeared in films throughout the 1940s into the 1950s, including the horror film Night Monster (1942) opposite Bela Lugosi, the fantasy Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), and the film noir A Cry in the Night (1956). Beginning in the mid-1950s, Hervey transitioned to television, appearing as a guest star on Perry Mason, Honey West, and My Three Sons, the latter of which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. Hervey appeared in occasional minor film roles in her later career, such as Gene Saks's Cactus Flower (1969) and Clint Eastwood's thriller Play Misty for Me (1971).

Hervey died of heart failure in 1998. She had two children, one of whom was pop singer Jack Jones.

Early life Hervey was born Beulah Irene Herwick on July 11, 1909, in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her father was a sign painter, and her mother a Christian Science practitioner whose pupil was English actress Emma Dunn. Dunn agreed to become Hervey's acting coach during her childhood.

Career Early films

She began her acting career after being introduced to a casting agent from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). After a successful screen test, she was signed by the studio and made her screen debut in the 1933 film The Stranger's Return, opposite Lionel Barrymore.

In 1936, Hervey left MGM and signed with Universal Pictures.

At Universal from 1940 to 1943, Hervey had the lead in 11 B pictures, one A (The Boys from Syracuse) and one serial (Gang Busters).

In 1943, Hervey was seriously injured in a car accident and was forced to retire from acting for five years.

Later career Hervey returned to acting in 1948 with the film Mickey, followed by Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. By the early 1950s, she began appearing in television. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Hervey appeared in several television series, including the crime dramas Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Peter Gunn, and Hawaiian Eye. She also made three guest appearances on Perry Mason: in 1958, she played Helen Bartlett in "The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde"; in 1961, she played Grace Davies in "The Case of the Jealous Journalist", and in 1963, she played Jill Garson in "The Case of the Lawful Lazarus". She returned to theater with a role opposite Hans Conried in Take Her, She's Mine, a comedy written by Henry and Phoebe Ephron, which had regional performances in Massachusetts and Connecticut in the summer of 1963. After her roles as Mrs. Durant in the comedy Cactus Flower and as Madge in the 1971 thriller film Play Misty for Me with Clint Eastwood, Hervey retired from acting. She took a job working at a travel agency in Sherman Oaks and briefly returned to acting in 1978 with a role in Charlie's Angels. In 1981, she made her last on-screen appearance in the television movie Goliath Awaits, which centers on a community of survivors from a World War II shipwreck who have survived decades living underwater.

Personal life

In 1929, Hervey married musician William Fenderson, with whom she had a daughter, Gail (1930–2020). The pair divorced in 1933. In the mid-1930s, she was engaged to Robert Taylor. In 1936, she met and married actor Allan Jones. The couple had a son, Jack Jones (1938–2024). They divorced in 1957. She was cremated, and her ashes returned to her surviving daughter.

Legacy For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Hervey has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6336 Hollywood Boulevard.

Television Year Title Role Notes 1952 The Gulf Playhouse Episode: "Our Two Hundred Children" 1953–55 The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse 2 episodes 1953–56 Lux Video Theatre Susan Arnold / Lucille / Patricia 4 episodes 1954–55 Fireside Theatre Miss Vickers / Louise 2 episodes 1954 Stage 7 Fran Abbelard Episode: "The Time of Day" 1954 The Lone Wolf Mae East Episode: "The Runaway Story (a.k.a. Death of a Lawyer)" 1955 Studio 57 Ann Randall 2 episodes 1955 The Public Defender Mrs. Harris Episode: "Mama's Boy" 1955–57 Climax! Nancy Blount 2 episodes 1955–58 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show Clara Bagley / Florence Henderson 5 episodes 1955–58 Matinee Theatre Margaret March / Stella Martyn / Myra Gordon 8 episodes 1955 Damon Runyon Theater Episode: "Small Town Caper" 1956 The Millionaire Maxine Episode: "The Candy Caldwell Story" 1956 Sneak Preview Episode: "The Way Back" 1956 The Charles Farrell Show Mrs. Andrews Episode: "Charlie's Love Secret" 1957 Circus Boy Martha Neilson Episode: "Farewell to the Circus" 1957 Panic! Gretchen Beresford Episode: "Two Martinis" 1958 Studio One Beth Byrnes Episode: "The Lonely Stage" 1958–63 Perry Mason Jill Garson / Grace Davies / Helen Bartlett 3 episodes 1959 Playhouse 90 Mrs. McBurnie Episode: "A Quiet Game of Cards" 1959 Richard Diamond, Private Detective Mary Forsythe Episode: "The Sport" 1959 The Ann Sothern Show Lorraine Episode: "The Ugly Bonnet" 1959 The Donna Reed Show Louise Collier Episode: "A Penny Earned" 1960 Bourbon Street Beat Alice Nichols Episode: "False Identity" 1960 Markham Mrs. Franklin Episode: "The Silken Cord" 1960 Thriller Mrs. Edith Pettit Episode: "The Watcher" 1960 The Case of the Dangerous Robin Thelma Henderson Episode: "Temporary Window" 1961 Peter Gunn Madelon Ridgely Episode: "Blind Item" 1961 The DuPont Show with June Allyson Gladys Episode: "The Guilty Heart" 1961 Shirley Temple's Storybook Esperanza Episode: "The Princess and the Goblins" 1961 Surfside 6 Mrs. Gardner Episode: "Little Mister Kelly" 1961–62 Hawaiian Eye Mary Kirk / Marjorie Lloyd / Harriet Regan 3 episodes 1962 Target: The Corruptors Nora Tremaine Episode: "One for the Road" 1962 Follow the Sun Jeanette Episode: "The Last of the Big Spenders" 1962 77 Sunset Strip Ellen Gilmore Episode: "Framework for the Badge" 1962 The Wide Country Dorothy Stannard Episode: "Our Ernie Kills People" 1962 Dr. Kildare Martha Kildare Episode: "An Ancient Office" 1963 The Eleventh Hour Valerie Prentice Episode: "The Wings of Morning" 1964 The Twilight Zone Martha Tillman Episode: "Black Leather Jackets" 1964 Burke's Law Mrs. Tilson Episode: "Who Killed April?" 1964 The Baileys of Balboa Marie Episode: "Won't You Come Home, Sam Bailey" 1964–65 The Young Marrieds Irene Forsythe #1 1965–66 Honey West Aunt Meg 16 episodes 1967 Love on a Rooftop Helen Cavendish Episode: "One Too Many Cooks" 1968 Ironside Margaret Whitfield Episode: "Reprise" 1968 The Mod Squad Mrs. Sanderson Episode: "A Quiet Weekend in the Country" 1968–70 Family Affair Mrs. Eldridge / Miss Scranton 2 episodes 1969–72 My Three Sons Sylvia Anderson / Beatrice Brady 2 episodesNominatedPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role