{{short description|American film, stage and television actress (1900–1978)}} {{Infobox person |name = Jean Inness |image = Jean Inness and Michael Hall in Stories of the Century (Black Jack Ketchum).webp |caption = Inness (left) with Michael Hall in ''Stories of the Century'', 1954 |birth_name = Jean Spurney Inness |birth_date = {{birth date|1900|12|18}} |birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1978|12|27|1900|12|18}} |death_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S. |occupation = Film, stage and television actress |spouse = {{marriage|Victor Jory|1928}} |children = 2, including Jon Jory<ref name="a">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32180853/jean-inness/|title=Actress Jean Inness dies; was Jon Jory's mother|work=The Courier-Journal|location=Louisville, Kentucky|date=December 29, 1978|access-date=December 25, 2021|page=14|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> |years_active = 1920–1971 |alma_mater = Bryn Mawr College }}
'''Jean Spurney Inness''' (December 18, 1900 – December 27, 1978) was an American film, stage and television actress. Inness played nurse Beatrice Fain in the American medical drama television series ''Dr. Kildare''.<ref name="a" /><ref name="bill">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/290369881/|title=Jean Inness Dissolves Kildare's Shop|first=Bill|last=Summers|work=Orlando Evening Star|location=Orlando, Florida|date=February 16, 1962|access-date=December 25, 2021|page=5|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}}</ref>
== Life and career == Inness was born in Cleveland, Ohio.<ref name="a" /> She attended Bryn Mawr College,<ref name="a" /> and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.<ref name="b">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47712616/early-years-jean-inness/|title=New Actress Is Cast For Leading Role|work=The Pasadena Post|location=Pasadena, California|date=June 12, 1928|access-date=December 25, 2021|page=2|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> Inness began her career in 1920 touring Indianapolis and Cincinnati with the Stuart Walker Stock Company.<ref name="a" /> She also starred with Stewart Walker in productions of ''The Cradle Snatchers'' and ''An Ideal Husband''.<ref name="b" />
Inness performed for 34 weeks with the Denham Stock Company in Denver, Colorado, and for 26 weeks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<ref name="b" /> She performed at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, with leading roles in stage plays including ''Cat On a Hot Tin Roof'', ''Long Day's Journey Into Night'', ''Stages'' and ''Death of a Salesman''.<ref name="a" /> Her son Jon Jory was a stage director at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.<ref name="a" /> In 1928, Inness was cast in the lead role of the stage play ''The Jest'' at the Pasadena Playhouse.<ref name="b" />
Inness played the title role in the 1940 production of ''Ramona'', starring with Onslow Stevens.<ref name="c">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1070074/the-san-bernardino-county-sun/|title=Jean Innes, Stevens to Play Principal Roles|work=The San Bernardino County Sun|location=San Bernardino, California|date=April 10, 1940|access-date=December 25, 2021|page=5|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref>
Inness began her screen career in 1942, appearing in the film ''Not a Ladies' Man''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyOCpuGkuykC|title=The Films of Fay Wray|page=162|first1=Roy|last1=Kinnard|first2=Tony|last2=Crnkovich|publisher=McFarland|date=July 11, 2015|isbn=9781476604152|via=Google Books}}</ref> She appeared on television programs including ''Gunsmoke'', ''The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Bonanza'', ''The Twilight Zone'', ''Wagon Train'', ''The Virginian'', ''The Big Valley'' and ''Rawhide''.<ref name="a" /> Inness played Nurse Beatrice Fain in the medical drama television series ''Dr. Kildare''.<ref name="a" /><ref name="bill" />
== Death == Inness died in December 1978 at her home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 78.<ref name="a" />
==Television== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1958|| ''Peter Gunn'' || Loretta Gymps || S1:E5, "The Frog" |- |1959|| ''Rawhide'' || Carrie Hode || S1:E19, "Incident of the Dry Drive" |- |1961|| ''Rawhide'' || Hattie || S4:E4, "Judgement at Hondo Seco" |- |1962|| ''Wagon Train'' || Mrs Lathrop || S5:E21, “The Daniel Clay Story” |- |1967|| ''Ironside'' || Dee Stowe || S1:E13, "The Past Is Prologue" |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb name|0409194}} *{{TCMDb name|92203%7C80372}} *[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jean_inness/ Rotten Tomatoes profile]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inness, Jean}} Category:1900 births Category:1978 deaths Category:Actors from Cleveland Category:Actresses from Ohio Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Bryn Mawr College alumni