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Jean Byron Profile
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| (Imogene Burkhart) |
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| 10 December 25 | is born in Paducah, Kentucky. Her mother's maiden name is Baston. |
| c. 38 | performs as a comic at Churchill Downs at age 12, being paid 5 dollars |
| ? | attends high school in Louisville, Kentucky |
| ? | is booked from the dancing school to sing in Schubert's light opera starring Freddie De Cordova |
| 39 | is semifinalist with Jesse Lasky’s "Gateway to Hollywood" radio show at age 13 and visits California with her mother. There, while visiting the RKO lot, she is fascinated by Orson Welles, who is filming Citizen Kane. |
| 46 | moves with her family to Los Angeles at age 19 |
| sings with Tommy Dorsey |
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| sings with the Jan Savitt’s orchestra. Savitt's drummer, Dave Shelley, changes her name from Burkhart to Byron. |
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| 52 | a casting director for Sam Katzman Productions discovers her at the Player’s Ring and offers her a part in Voodoo Tiger |
| c. 52 | auditions for Cecil DeMille for The Greatest Show on Earth |
| 53 | films Magnetic Monster in one day |
| Mid-50s | does a lot of television shows and commercials in New York |
| 55 | marries actor Michael Ansara. He's about 33; she's about 29. |
| Early October 56 | divorces Ansara in Los Angeles describing him "as so moody that he would often go by without speaking to her." Ansara will marry actress Barbara Eden in 1958. |
| c. 57 | J.W. Thompson signs her as the Lux girl and has her lighten her hair |
| 59 | she and Mary LaRoche are in the unsold pilot for "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" |
| 60 | resides in the San Fernando Valley |
| 63 - 66 | it’s a sacrifice for her to film "The Patty Duke Show" in New York City as she misses her family |
| 64 | is very fond of animals, plays a mother role, is single |
| November 65 | is Patty Duke's matron of honor at her wedding to director Harry Falk |
| March 66 | is unmarried |
| Early 70s | changes her name from Jean to Jeane due to numerology |
| Late 80s | is on stage in Los Angeles |
| leaves Los Angeles to live in a smaller town |
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| 3 February 06 | as Imogene Burkhart, she dies at age 80 in Mobile, Alabama, from complications after surgery |
| Sources: Screen Sirens Scream! by Paul Parla and Charles P. Mitchell, The Charleston Gazette, Pasadena Star-News, Who`s Who, The Daily Review, www.Ancestry.com | |
| Recommended Books: Screen Sirens Scream! by Paul Parla and Charles P. Mitchell | |
| Links: Filmography | |