Image of Jean Hagen

Jean Hagen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jean Hagen (born Jean Shirley Verhagen, August 3, 1923 – August 29, 1977) was an American actress best known for her role as Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain (1952), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Hagen was also nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Margaret Williams (1953–56) on the television series Make Room For Daddy. Her film debut was as a comical femme fatale in the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn 1949 classic Adam's Rib, directed by George Cukor. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) provided Hagen with her first starring role alongside Sterling Hayden. Hagen received excellent reviews playing "Doll" Conover, a woman who sticks by criminal Dix's side until the bitter end. She appeared too in the film noir Side Street (1950) playing a gangster's sincere but none-too-bright nightclub-singer girlfriend. Hagen is best remembered for her comic performance in Singin' in the Rain as the vain and talentless silent movie star Lina Lamont. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for this memorable performance. By 1953, she had joined the cast of the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy. For her portrayal as the first wife of Danny Thomas, Hagen received three Emmy Award nominations, but after three seasons, she grew dissatisfied with the role and left the series. Thomas, who also produced the show, reportedly did not appreciate Hagen's departing the successful series, and her character was killed off rather than recast. This was the first TV character to be killed off in a family sitcom. Marjorie Lord was cast a year later as Danny's second wife and played opposite Thomas successfully for the remainder of the series. In 1957 Hagen co-starred in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "Enough Rope for Two", portraying a woman who accompanies two thieves trying to retrieve stolen money from a desert mine shaft. She then appeared as Elizabeth in the 1960 episode "Once Upon a Knight" on CBS's anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson; and the following year she guest-starred on The Andy Griffith Show in the episode "Andy and the Woman Speeder". Although she made frequent guest appearances in various television series, Hagen was unable to successfully resume her film career in starring roles. After appearing with Fred MacMurray in the Disney comedy The Shaggy Dog (1959), Hagen for the remainder of her career played supporting roles, such as Marguerite LeHand, personal secretary to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello (1960), and the friend of Bette Davis in Dead Ringer (1964). In the 1960s, Hagen's health began to decline and she spent many years hospitalized or under medical care. Much later, in 1976, she made a comeback of sorts playing character roles in episodes of the television series Starsky and Hutch and The Streets of San Francisco. She, however, made her final acting appearance the next year in the television movie Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn.


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Born:
Aug 3, 1923 In Chicago, Illinois, USA
Movie/TV Credits:
36
First Appeared:
In the movie Adam's Rib 1949-11-18
Latest Project:
Movie Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer 2002-09-24
Known For
Poster of Sunrise at Campobello
Poster of Carbine Williams
Poster of Night Into Morning
Poster of A Life of Her Own
Filmography
Movie Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer Self (archive footage) 2002-09-24
Movie Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn Landlady 1977-05-16
Series Starsky & Hutch Unknown 1975-09-10
Series The Streets of San Francisco Unknown 1972-09-23
Series Make Room for Granddaddy Unknown 1970-09-23
Movie Dead Ringer Dede Marshall 1964-02-19
Movie Panic in Year Zero! Ann Baldwin 1962-07-05
Series Dr. Kildare Unknown 1961-09-27
Series Ben Casey Unknown 1961-10-02
Movie Sunrise at Campobello Missy Le Hand 1960-09-28
Series The Andy Griffith Show Unknown 1960-10-03
Movie The Shaggy Dog Freeda Daniels 1959-03-19
Series The DuPont Show with June Allyson Unknown 1959-09-21
Series The Detectives Unknown 1959-10-16
Series Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Unknown 1958-10-06
Movie Spring Reunion Barna Forrest 1957-03-01
Series Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Unknown 1956-10-05
Series Alfred Hitchcock Presents Unknown 1955-10-02
Movie The Big Knife Connie Bliss 1955-10-25
Series Climax! Unknown 1954-10-07
Series The Jimmy Durante Show Unknown 1954-10-02
Movie Half a Hero Martha Dobson 1953-05-11
Series General Electric Theater Unknown 1953-02-01
Movie Latin Lovers Anne Kellwood 1953-08-12
Movie Arena Meg Hutchins 1953-06-24
Series The Danny Thomas Show Margaret Williams 1953-09-29
Movie Singin' in the Rain Lina Lamont 1952-04-09
Movie Carbine Williams Maggie Williams 1952-05-01
Movie Shadow in the Sky Stella Murphy 1952-07-18
Movie Night Into Morning Girl Next Door 1951-06-08
Movie No Questions Asked Joan Brenson 1951-06-15
Movie Ambush Martha Conovan 1950-01-13
Movie Side Street Harriette Sinton 1950-03-23
Movie A Life of Her Own Maggie Collins 1950-09-01
Movie The Asphalt Jungle Doll Conovan 1950-05-12
Movie Adam's Rib Beryl Caighn 1949-11-18