Jean Carmen

Jean Carmen
Carmen in 1934
Born	Jean Carmean^[1] (1913-04-07)April 7, 1913 Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Died	August 26, 1993(1993-08-26) (aged 80) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Other names	Julia Thayer Jean Carmen Dillow
Occupation(s)	Actress, director, writer
Spouse(s)	Walter Lohman (1932 - 19??) Barrett Collyer Dillow (c. 1949 - c. 1959/1960); divorced
Children	1

Jean Carmen (born Jean Carmean; April 7, 1913 – August 26, 1993) was an American film, stage, and radio actress. She sometimes went by the stage name Julia Thayer. In addition to her appearances in various films throughout the 1930s, Carmen starred on Broadway in the original production of The Man Who Came to Dinner, appearing as a replacement for the role of June Stanley. In her later career, Carmen wrote, directed, and produced the film The Pawn in 1966.

Biography

Born in Portland, Oregon on April 7, 1913 to John and Agnes Carmean,^[2] she had two siblings. Jean Carmen (she altered her surname) was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1934, the last year they were named.^[3] She had a supporting role as The Rider in the 1937 Republic Pictures western serial The Painted Stallion. She also worked in radio and on Broadway, in Stage Door and the original 1939 production of The Man Who Came to Dinner (as a replacement for the role of June Stanley^[4]). She was one of three gold diggers in the 1938 Three Stooges comedy, Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb.

Marriages

Her first marriage was in 1932 at age 19 to insurance broker Walter Lohman, who was more than two decades her senior. Newspapers and the August 14, 1932 marriage license indicate their wedding ceremony was at the beach home of Constance Talmadge in Santa Monica, California. She filed for divorce in 1937.^[5]^[6] She married, secondly, to Barrett Collyfer Dillow, around 1949, whose family headed the B.F. Goodrich Company.^[6] They had a son, Guy (1951-1985), before divorcing around 1959 or 1960. Guy H. Dillow, nicknamed "Buz" or "Buzzie", was born in 1951 and died in 1985. Guy was featured in Jean's movie The Pawn, an early 1960s film shot in the U.S. and Italy. Guy died in 1985, after which his mother sold her Greenwich, Connecticut home and re-located to Charleston, South Carolina.^[6]^[7]

Writing credits

In 1945, Jean and Irish Owen authored the comedy Last House on the Left and there was a pre-Broadway tryout in Hartford, Connecticut. The leads were Jean and Gene Barry. The play was not successful and never made it to New York. In 1966, Carmen wrote, directed, and produced the film The Pawn, credited as Jean Carmen Dillow.^[8] During this time, she resided in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[9] Her son starred in the film.^[9]

Death

Carmen died on August 26, 1993, in Charleston, South Carolina, aged 80.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1933	Midshipman Jack	Gloria's Blonde Girlfriend
1934	Hips, Hips, Hooray!	Blonde	Uncredited
1934	Kiss and Make-Up	Maharajah's Wife		^[8]
1934	Young and Beautiful	WAMPAS Baby Star		^[8]
1934	The Third Sex	Bobby Allen		^[8]
1935	Born to Battle	Betty Powell		^[8]
1936	Wolves of the Sea	Nadine Miller		^[8]
1937	Bill Cracks Down	Girl	Uncredited
1937	Gunsmoke Ranch	Marion Warren	As Julia Thayer
1937	The Painted Stallion	The Rider	As Julia Thayer
1937	Arizona Gunfighter	Beth Lorimer
1937	Million Dollar Racket	Jessie
1938	Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb	Marge	Short film
1938	Paroled from the Big House	Pat Mallory		^[8]
1938	Sunset Murder Case	Chorus Girl	Uncredited	^[8]
1939	Four Girls in White	Nurse	Uncredited	^[8]
1939	In Old Montana	June Allison		^[8]
1939	Smoky Trails	Marie
1939	Yes, We Have No Bonanza	Singing Sister	Uncredited
1939	Crashing Thru	Ann "Angel" Chambers		^[8]
1953	Here Come the Girls	Missouri Chorine	Uncredited
1968	The Pawn	—	Director, producer, and writer	^[8]

Stage credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1939–1941	The Man Who Came to Dinner	June Stanley	Music Box Theatre	^[4]

References

^ Biography, b-westerns.com. Accessed July 20, 2023.
^ Biography, b-westerns.com. Accessed July 20, 2023.
^ Wollstein, Hans J. "WAMPAS Baby Stars". Retrieved May 27, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Jean Carmen". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
^ Profile, cdnc.ucr.edu. Accessed July 20, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rainey, Buck (1992). Sweethearts of the Sage: Biographies and Filmographies of 258 Actresses Appearing in Western Movies. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-899-50565-7.
^ Biography, b-westerns.com. Accessed July 20, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "Jean Carmen Filmography". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Davis, James (July 26, 1966). "Big City Beat". New York Daily News. New York City, New York. p. 48 – via Newspapers.com.