Croft had a son, Eric, by her first marriage, who was killed in action during the Vietnam War. Celebrating the life and career of the wonderful character actress Mary Jane Croft. She had left her family in WV to escape an abusive relationship. Croft and Hal March co-starred in Too Many Cooks, a summer replacement program on CBS in 1950. She provided the voice for Cleo the basset hound in Jackie Cooper's NBC-TV series The People’s Choice (1955–58). In addition to her work with Lucille Ball, she was a frequent guest star on other television programs, including Howard Duff's adventure/drama series Dante in the 1960 episode "The Misfortune Cookie". On I Love Lucy Late in the weekly run of the original I Love Lucy series, the major characters moved to Connecticut. Diminutive, blond character comedienne whose strident voice and nervy manner made her the perfect foil to Lucille Ball 's madcap antics on TV, at first, occasionally, on I Love Lucy (1951) (as "Betty Ramsay" and "Evelyn Bigsby"), then on a regular basis on The Lucy Show (1962) and … The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 – August 24, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy, Ms. Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of Our Miss Brooks, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, and Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. Croft had previously had a recurring role as Audrey Simmons during the show's early seasons set in Danfield, New York. I'm having a conversation with you! For his contribution to radio, Mel Blanc has a star on the Hollywood Walk of … Despite being best known for her work with Lucille Ball, she made her mark early as an incredible radio actress, appearing on nearly every show imaginable, from Suspense to regular gigs on Our Miss Brooks and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet . The character remained until the cancellation of Here's Lucy in 1974. In addition to her work with Lucille Ball, she was a frequent guest star on other television programs, including Howard Duff's adventure/drama series Dante in the 1960 episode "The Misfortune Cookie". Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 – August 24, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy, Ms. Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of Our Miss Brooks, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, and Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. I Love Lucy Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. She also returned to radio for several episodes of Sears Radio Theater in 1979. Diminutive, blond character comedienne whose strident voice and nervy manner made her the perfect foil to Lucille Ball 's madcap antics on TV, at first, occasionally, on I Love Lucy (1951) (as "Betty Ramsay" and "Evelyn Bigsby"), then on a regular basis on The Lucy Show (1962) and … From that, she went to radio station WLW. Croft said of her work at WLW, "from 1935 to 1939, I played parts with every kind of voice and accent: children, babies, old women, society belles, main street floozies – everything."[1]. She died of natural causes in Century City, California. There Lucy Ricardo befriended a new neighbor, Betty Ramsey (portrayed by Croft), who was very socially conscious and tended to get Lucy involved in adventures different from those that involved Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance). [7][8], Learn how and when to remove this template message, "When reports of your death are exaggerated", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Jane_Croft&oldid=1011969985, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles needing additional references from January 2009, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Bathsheba Spooner, Elizabeth, Josie Mansfield, Marie, Marquise de Brinvilliers, "The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner", "The Axe and the Droot Family - How They Fared", "The Checkered Life and Sudden Death of Colonel James Fisk Jr.", "The Lethal Habit of the Marquise de Brinvilliers", This page was last edited on 13 March 2021, at 21:35. Late in the weekly run of the original I Love Lucy series, the major characters moved to Connecticut. Mary Jane Lewis was Croft's legal name at the time, as she was then married to actor-producer Elliott Lewis (who had originally produced The Lucy Show during its first two seasons) but continued to use her maiden name professionally. Mel's Girlfriend played by Mary Jane Croft Blanc also appeared frequently on The Great Gildersleeve, the Abbott and Costello Show, Burns and Allen, and as August Moon on Point Sublime. Born and raised in Muncie, Indiana, Croft worked extensively as Croft continued to act in television for several years after the end of Here's Lucy, even reuniting with Ball in 1977 in the special, Lucy Calls the President. Mary Jane Croft Lewis, by Jill Pesselnick, 1999-08-31, for Variety.com, accessed 2009-01-02. https://ilovelucyandricky.fandom.com/wiki/Mary_Jane_Croft?oldid=6862. Described as "a stage-struck 17-year-old just out of high school", she started her career on the stage of the Muncie Civic Theatre. She was a regular on at least two other series, as ebullient neighbor Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (ABC) and on Our Miss Brooks (CBS-TV), in which she reprised her radio role as Miss Daisy Enright, the title character's rival. Croft had previously guest-starred as Lucy's wealthy schoolmate Cynthia Harcourt in "Lucy is Envious," then as Evelyn Bigsby, the airline passenger seated next to Lucy in "Return Home from Europe," the episode in which Lucy disguises a hunk of cheese as a baby. She died of natural causes in Century City, California.[1]. The Lewis character was maintained when The Lucy Show was transformed into Ball's third situation comedy series, Here's Lucy. When Vance left The Lucy Show after the 1964-1965 season, Croft became Lucy's new sidekick, Mary Jane Lewis. Mary Jane (Croft) VanGilder moved from Fairmont, West Virginia, to Plymouth, Ohio, during World War II. Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 – August 24, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, and Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Mary Jane Croft Celebrity Profile - Check out the latest Mary Jane Croft photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at Rotten Tomatoes! She provided the voice for Cleo the basset hound in Jackie Cooper's NBC series The People’s Choice (1955–58). She also appeared in frequent guest star roles on Lucille Ball's My Favorite Husband, the beginning of their later professional and personal relationship. Mary Jane Vangilder at the Doe Network Mary Jane Vangilder at the Charley Her career started there as well when she appeared on the stage of the Muncie Civic Theatre. Reviews and scores for TV involving Mary Jane Croft. She married Elliott Lewis in 1959 and remained wed until his death in 1990. In this week's episode, I feature Mary Jane Croft, best known for playing Betty Ramsey on "I Love Lucy." Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 – August 24, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy, Ms. Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of Our Miss Brooks, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, and Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 - August 24, 1999) was an American actress best known for her role as Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. Mary Jane Croft Van Gilder went missing in 1945. Croft continued to act in television for several years after the end of Here's Lucy, even reuniting with Ball in 1977 in the special, Lucy Calls the President. Mary Jane Croft. Radios The Roma Wines Show featuring from left, CBS radio actress Mary Croft had previously had a recurring role as Audrey Simmons during the show's early seasons set in Danfield, New York. Today, we’re finishing our coverage on the best of Lucille Ball’s third half-hour television series (fourth series altogether), Here’s Lucy (1968-1974, CBS), which starred Ball, Gordon, and her two real life kids, and began production following the sale of Desilu and conclusion of The Lucy Show (1962-1968, CBS). Brought to you... Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a Posts about mary jane croft written by upperco Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! [1] She worked extensively as an actress in radio, appearing on such programs as Life with Luigi,[2] Blondie,[3] The Adventures of Sam Spade, Suspense, The Beulah Show, The Bill Goodwin Show, Broadway Is My Beat, On Stage, Crime Classics, Four-Star Playhouse, The Harold Peary Show, Joan Davis Time, The Mel Blanc Show, One Man's Family, Our Miss Brooks and Sears Radio Theater. Over to the next series, the major characters moved to Connecticut was with! 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