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Laura Devon Profile
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Photo gallery |
| (Mary Lou Briley) |
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| 23 May 31 | is born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Merrill Devon, an automotive engineer, is of Swedish, Scotch, and Irish descent; her mother, of Dutch descent. |
| ? | attends elementary school in Chicago |
| ? | moves to Grosse Point, a fashionable suburb of Detroit, Michigan |
| c. 45 | starts singing at age 14 |
| ? | attends University High in Detroit |
| ? | majors in journalism and political science for two years at the University of Michigan |
| 54 | her son, Kevin, is born in Detroit. He will become screenwriter Kevin Jarre. |
| ? | her first professional part is a lead in The Boyfriend at the Vanguard Playhouse in Detroit |
| c. 61 | Bob Goldstein of 20th Century-Fox hears her sing at the London Chop House in Detroit and invites her to Hollywood for a screen test. In 1964, she'll tell: "I had an agent who told me Universal-International was also interested in me. He took me there for a test and they signed me to a contract right off, so I never got around to 20th. For a full year at Universal-International I was never put into a picture. I had voice, dancing, and acting lessons, and the studio paid the bills. It was like being totally subsidized with nothing to do but study." |
| meets Brian Kelly, the son of Justice Harry S. Kelly, a member of the Michigan Supreme Court and a former Michigan governor |
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| December 61 | is expected to marry young actor Brian Kelly during the week of New Year. The press tells: "Their romance began in Detroit but was interrupted when Brian first came to Hollywood. They saw each other on occasional trips, but they both dated others." |
| 62 | is under contract to Universal-International |
| 23 June 62 | as Mary L. Clark, she marries TV actor Brian J. Kelly at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in Hollywood. Both are 31. The press gives his age as 29 and hers as 23. Afterwards, they are off on a three-week Honolulu honeymoon. |
| August 62 | she and her husband star on stage at the Laguna Beach Summer Theater in Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic |
| c. 62 | after a lead in "Route 66,” Revue wants to sign her, but her manager, Fred Raphael, suggests she deny all contracts |
| 63 - 64 | is part of the ensemble cast for "The Richard Boone Show" |
| November 63 | Vincente Minnelli sees her in "The Fling," a segment of "The Richard Boone Show," and offers her a part in Goodbye Charlie. The bosses at 20th Century-Fox ask her to sign a contract for seven pictures, but she gives them just two. |
| July 64 | columnist Harrison Carroll tells: "Actress Laura Devon flew to Nassau to see husband Brian Kelly, who's down there doing a TV series. Laura, who just finished Goodbye, Charlie, and who is a red hot prospect both in films and in TV, tells me: 'I'll stay with Brian as long as I can. We are going to take an apartment in Miami and commute to the location.'" |
| End July 64 | Carroll's back to her: "Laura Devon joined her husband, Brian Kelly, in Miami, where he's doing the "Flipper" TV series. They thought it would be a second honeymoon. However, she fell while water skiing with Brian and suffered a brain concussion. Was rushed to a hospital and will have to remain idle for many, many weeks..." |
| August 64 | she and Kelly live in a rented house in Coldwater Canyon, and her mother stays with her when her husband's away |
| October 64 | she and Kelly move into their first home, a three-bedroom English Tudor house in the San Fernando Valley, complete with open beam ceilings, two fireplaces, a pool, and beautiful old trees |
| July 65 | she and Kelly lead a casual life both in Miami and in California. Kelly resides in a Florida apartment from May through September for the filming of "Flipper." The series takes a vacation in October for the hurricane season, then resumes shooting from November through January. She makes the scene in a foreign car, while Kelly drives a convertible. They have no children but do have a Hungarian pup named Dooley. |
| January 66 | divorces Kelly in Los Angeles. He will die at age 73 in 2005 in New Jersey. |
| June 66 | Carroll reports: "While he's been in Florida for the "Flipper" series, Brian has been dating the Thailand beauty who won the "Miss Universe" contest. He and actress Laura Devon still are going ahead with the divorce." |
| January 67 | cons her dates into taking her to a certain drive-in restaurant where they even wheel a champagne bucket out to your car |
| issues her new single "I Like the Look" and "Dreamsville" from her film Peter Gunn, both by Henry Mancini |
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| June 67 | is one of the celebrity models at a Motion Picture Mothers Inc., benefit luncheon held in Sherman Oaks. Others are Mary Anderson, Sandra Descher, Barbara Rush, Lita Baron, Betty Lynn, and Ann Miller. |
| November 67 | is expected to marry composer Maurice Jarre, the ex of actress Dani Saval, any day. They are house hunting in Beverly Hills. |
| Late December 67 | Harrison Carroll knows: "Just as friends predicted, actress Dany Saval and Ed Garner beat Dany's ex, Academy Award winning composer, Maurice Jarre, and Laura Devon to the altar. They eloped to Las Vegas and were married after midnight at a wedding chapel." |
| 30 December 67 | as Mary L. Kelly, she secretly marries Maurice Alexis Jarre at the Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes Estates. The only guest at the ceremony is the maid of honor, her sister, Patricia Briley. The press claims that it's the second marriage for both. He's 43; she's 36. The press gives his age as 32 and hers as 26. They reside in Beverly Hills. French-born Jarre began his international career at the age of 16 not even knowing how to read music. He studied composition and conducting with Louis Aubert, Arthur Honegger, and Charles Munch, and teamed with Pierre Boulez for four with the Jean-Louis Barrault Co. Jarre has a 2-year-old daughter from his marriage to Saval and a 19-year-old boy from a former marriage. |
| 13 January 68 | discloses to the public her secret marriage to Jarre |
| 14 March 84 | divorces Jarre in Los Angeles. He will marry 30-year-old Fong F. Khong in December 1984. |
| 19 July 07 | as Mary L. Jarre, she dies at age 76 at her Beverly Hills home of heart failure |
| Sources: San Antonio Express-News, The Times Recorder, The Lima News, Chronicle-Telegram, The Edwardsville Intelligencer, News Journal-Mansfield, Herald-Journal, Nevada State Journal, Winona Daily News, Long Beach Independent, The News Tribune, Kokomo Morning Times, The News, Star-News, Who’s Who in Hollywood 1966, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, www.Ancestry.com | |
| Recommended Books: | |
| Links: Filmography | |