Jean Spurney Inness (December 18, 1900 – December 27, 1978) was an American film, stage and television actress. She was known for playing Nurse Beatrice Fain in the American medical drama television series Dr. Kildare.[1][2]

Life and career

Inness was born in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] She attended at Bryn Mawr College,[1] with also attending at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she was later sent back to college, after her family found out.[3] Inness began her career in 1920, where she entered the Stuart Walker Stock Company.[1] She wrote tesmonials of worshipping to actress, Blanche Yurka.[3] Yurka was appreciated and touched, in which she responded to Inness.[3] She then was able to perform with Stewart Walker into starring with him in the two plays The Cradle Snatchers and An Ideal Husband.[3]

Inness performed for 34 weeks at the Denham Stock Company in Denver, Colorado, in which she also performed for 26 weeks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3] She performed at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, in which she played leading roles in stage plays, including, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Stages and Death of a Salesman.[1] Her son was a stage director at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.[1] In 1928, Inness was cast into playing the lead role in the stage play, titled, The Jest.[3] She played Ginevra, in which the play was shown at the Pasadena Playhouse.[3]

In 1940, Inness played the lead role of "Ramona", in the 1940 stage production of the same name of the character.[4] She starred with actor, Onslow Stevens, who played Alessandro.[4] Inness then began her film and television career in 1942, as appearing in the film Not a Ladies' Man, where she played Miss Norton.[5] She appeared on television programs including Gunsmoke, The Andy Griffith Show, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Wagon Train, The Virginian, The Big Valley and Rawhide.[1] Inness played Nurse Beatrice Fain in the medical drama television series Dr. Kildare.[1][2]

Death

Inness died in December 1978 at her home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 78.[1]

References

External links

• Jean Inness at IMDb
• Jean Inness at the TCM Movie Database
• Jean Inness at AllMovie
• Rotten Tomatoes profile