Jean MacArthur, widow of the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who won admirers around the world with her friendly, unassuming manner and "stand by her man" reticence, died Saturday in New York City. She was 101.

The former Jean Marie Faircloth, who had lived in the city's Waldorf Towers, died at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said Col. William Davis, director of the MacArthur Foundation in Norfolk, Va.

Jean MacArthur was at her general's side in war and peace. She accompanied him aboard a PT boat when he was ordered out of the Philippines to escape a Japanese siege at the outset of the war in the Pacific. She spent the rest of the war in Australia and mingled with throngs of Japanese during the postwar occupation of Japan. Head held high, she shared her husband's bittersweet homecoming when President Harry S. Truman relieved him of command during the Korean War.

Nearing death in 1964, MacArthur, 18 years her senior, described her as "my constant friend, sweetheart and devoted supporter."

She had remained active in theater, opera, civic and philanthropic pursuits and served as honorary chairwoman of the foundation created as a memorial to her husband.


But she never, either before or after MacArthur's death, gave speeches, held news conferences or wrote her memoirs about life with him. When columnist Liz Smith repeatedly urged her to write a book, she always replied, "Oh, I could never do that to my general."

The riposte was reminiscent of her often repeated phrase during their marriage when she was asked for interviews: "Well, that just depends on the general." He would always say no, and that was always fine by her.

"Jean MacArthur has witnessed the great cataclysms of our time, survived war and peace, conquered tragedy and known triumph," President Ronald Reagan said in awarding her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988.

The citation for the medal, the nation's highest civilian award, called her "a shining example, a woman of substance and character, a loyal wife and mother, and like her general, a patriot."

"People are so good to me," she often said.

Jean Marie Faircloth was born in Nashville on Dec. 28, 1898. Her parents divorced when she was very young and her mother took her children to live in their grandfather's home in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where little Jean became known as "the flag-wavingest girl" in town.

The diminutive raven-haired beauty traveled widely after college and was on her way to China when she met MacArthur aboard ship in 1935. He was headed for Manila to become military advisor to the government of the Philippines.

MacArthur and Faircloth were introduced by the general's mother. He sent flowers.

"That was that," Jean MacArthur said later. She debarked in Manila and remained for 1 1/2 years as their romance flowered.

They were married in a quiet ceremony in New York on April 30, 1937. It was his second marriage, her first. She would not return to the United States for 14 years.

Their son, Arthur, was born in Manila in 1938.

Jean MacArthur, while unassuming in public, strenuously guarded her family's private life. They entertained only during lunch; their evenings often included private showings of movies.

Despite her husband's status, she patiently waited in line at Army stores and commissaries, not asking any special privileges.

"She was appreciative, sensitive, charming and completely wonderful," Rosario A. Sobral, former secretary to Jean MacArthur, told The Times in April 1951, shortly after Truman recalled MacArthur. "She was faithful to two objectives: to keep a quiet, smooth-running home for the general's peace of mind and to help the troops in any way possible and their loved ones at home. These were her share in the war effort--not just the obligations of a commander's wife, but born of deep understanding and sympathy."


Jean MacArthur will be buried beside her husband at the MacArthur Memorial in Virginia, a domed building dating from 1850 that once served as Norfolk's City Hall. It is now part of a complex that includes the Jean MacArthur Research Center, which houses her husband's archives. She personally dedicated the center in 1990, accompanied by her friend, Barbara Bush.

She is survived by her son and a sister, Angie McCarthy, of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Jean Arthur, whose wit and cracked husky child-woman voice made her one of Hollywood's most popular comedians of the 1930s and 1940s, died Wednesday in Carmel. She was 90.

Miss Arthur died of heart failure in Carmel Convalescent Hospital on the Monterey Peninsula, said spokesman Ronald H. Siebe of Paul Mortuary of Pacific Grove.

Propelled to stardom partially by Hollywood's 1933 Production Code, which prompted screenwriters to substitute quips for double entendres, Miss Arthur cheerfully twitted the top leading men of the era--Gary Cooper in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and "The Plainsman," Cary Grant in "Only Angels Have Wings," and James Stewart in perhaps her best-known film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," made in 1939.

"Jean had a very rare and special talent," Stewart said Wednesday after learning of Miss Arthur's death. "My experience working with her is something I will never forget."



She was praised for her role as the savvy political aide who teaches the ropes to the young, idealistic Sen. Smith and then falls in love with him, but the Academy Award eluded her then and throughout her career.

Her only Best Actress nomination was for "The More the Merrier" in 1943. George Stevens, who directed the film, called Miss Arthur "one of the greatest comediennes the screen has ever seen."

Asked why she dropped out of Hollywood after appearing in more than 70 films, Miss Arthur said in 1966: "I hated the place--not the work, but the lack of privacy, those terrible, prying fan magazine writers and all the surrounding exploitation."

Very shy, she resisted posing for the "leg art" obligatory for female stars in the 1930s, and reportedly was known to lock herself in her dressing room and cry after film takes.

Born Gladys Georgianna Greene in New York City, Miss Arthur dropped out of school to become a model when she was 15.

Her debut was a bit part in the 1923 film "Cameo Kirby," which was followed with several undistinguished roles in low-budget comedy shorts and Westerns.

Returning to Broadway, she won critical acclaim in "Foreign Affairs" and "The Man Who Reclaimed His Head" in the early 1930s.

Her Hollywood breakthrough came in 1935, when she first demonstrated her light comedic touch as a witty girl-next-door in director John Ford's "The Whole Town's Talking."

She returned to Broadway for a triumphant "Peter Pan" in the early 1950s and made her final film, "Shane," in 1953, as the frontier mother playing opposite Alan Ladd and Van Heflin.

Always considered somewhat standoffish by Hollywood standards because of her shyness, Miss Arthur went into semi-seclusion in her modest Carmel home, which is surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean.



Arthur was married twice, but had no children. Her first marriage, in 1928 to photographer Julian Anker, lasted only one day before it was annulled. Her second marriage was to Hollywood producer Frank Ross, who later married actress Joan Caulfield, who died of cancer in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

To the surprise of her close friends, Miss Arthur interrupted her apparent retirement after a dozen years to make her first appearance on television, in a guest role on the long-running Western series "Gunsmoke" in 1965.

"When my friends learned I was going to do the 'Gunsmoke' role, they said, 'Don't do that because you won't be able to stand TV. . . . They work so hard and so fast.' But I like to work fast. . . ," she told The Times.

Miss Arthur enjoyed the television debut so much, however, that she agreed to do her own series in 1966, "The Jean Arthur Show," about an attorney.

"I love doing this show because the story is different every time and there are different people," she told a Times interviewer. "You don't have time to get tired because there's something new every week.

"And my wardrobe! Well, when I walk on the set, everyone goes 'ahhh' because my clothes are so beautiful."

Despite her enthusiasm, the series was short-lived, and Miss Arthur returned to Carmel.

At her request, there will be no services. Her ashes will be scattered at sea. Memorial contributions may be made to the Monterey Institute of International Studies, P.O. Box 1978, Monterey, Calif., 93942, or to the Miss Jean Arthur Fund at the Robert Louis Stevenson School, Forest Lake Road, Pebble Beach, Calif. 93953.

Jean Arthur is seen in comedies ('The More the Merrier') and dramas ('Whirlpool') in the 'Two Faces of Jean' series at the Billy Wilder Theater.

By Susan King, Los Angeles Times


Jean Arthur, center, in "Only Angels Have Wings" from 1939. (UCLA Film & Television Archive,…)

No actress had a voice like Jean Arthur. It was an almost undescribable blend of a squeak and froggy croak.

Arthur put that voice to great use in the comedies and dramas she made in the 1930s through the early '50s. She literally purrs when she is kissed by Joel McCrea in George Stevens' 1943 comedy "The More the Merrier," for which she earned her only lead actress Oscar nomination.

But in Arthur's breakout film, Frank Capra's 1936 "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," one can hear the pain and tension in her voice when she tries to persuade Gary Cooper's Mr. Deeds to defend himself at a sanity hearing.

"Her voice is amazing in that scene. You can sense the hysteria that she feels that this man will never stand up for himself," said Richard Jewell, film professor at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. "I think it is some of the best acting in 1930s Hollywood films."


That acting talent is on full display in "The Two Faces of Jean," the UCLA Film & Television Archive retrospective opening Friday at the Billy Wilder Theater with two of her early films at Columbia — the 1934 drama "Whirlpool" and the 1935 John Ford-directed comedy "The Whole Town's Talking," withEdward G. Robinson.

The festival highlights several of her rarely seen early films that have been recently restored by Sony, including 1935's "Party Wire," 1934's "Most Precious Thing in Life," which casts Arthur as, of all things, an elderly maid at a men's college dorm, and the 1935 comedy "If You Could Only Cook."

There are also Howard Hawks' underrated 1939 gem "Only Angels Have Wings" and the World War II comedy "The More the Merrier." One of Arthur's best-loved films, Capra's 1939 masterpiece"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," is screening in the archive's "Family Flicks" series.

"I think Jean Arthur is special because she did not necessarily fit the glamorous star image of Hollywood in terms of being a larger-than-life beauty," said archive head Jan-Christopher Horak. "She was relatively normal looking. She had issues with her cameramen. She thought one side of her was really terrible and the other side, the left side, was acceptable."

Allyson Nadia Field, assistant professor of cinema and media studies at UCLA, believes that though Arthur is thought of as a favorite actress from the golden age of Hollywood, she is in some ways underappreciated.

"I think that probably stems from her versatility and depth," she said. "She is not someone you think you can get a handle on because of her versatility and the roles that she would play."

Field said that Arthur located both the comedic and dramatic aspects of her characters. "When you have these comedies with a strong dramatic core, they really exhibit the strength she has in both genres," said Field.

Above all, Arthur had spunk. "She is like the All-American woman who is actually quite headstrong and knows exactly what she wants," said Horak. "She is not apologetic about it and does not kowtow to men the way it was expected. I think that endeared her to many women in the business."

Arthur also was a working woman in the majority of her films, including playing an attorney in "The Defense Rests," a reporter in "Mr. Deeds," an entertainer in "Only Angels Have Wings" and a congresswoman in Billy Wilder's "A Foreign Affair."

"She was tough," said Jewell. "But at the same time there was a heart of gold inside that always came out no matter how cynical she seems at the beginning of those films. She stepped up and became the right kind of woman at crucial moments."


Despite her confidence on screen, in real life Arthur suffered from painful stage fright. "She was inhibited," said Horak. "She couldn't really deal with people and hated going on publicity tours, hated doing interviews."

Arthur made three films for Stevens — 1942's "The Talk of the Town," "The More the Merrier" and her last film, the classic 1953 Western "Shane."

"When he was casting 'Shane,' he had to move quite quickly," recalled the filmmaker's son, producer/director/writer George Stevens Jr. "Paramount had a commitment with Jean Arthur. So he said to the head of the studio, 'Jean Arthur has never let me down.'"

Jean Arthur is seen in comedies ('The More the Merrier') and dramas ('Whirlpool') in the 'Two Faces of Jean' series at the Billy Wilder Theater.

August 05, 2012|By Susan King, Los Angeles Times


Jean Arthur, center, in "Only Angels Have Wings" from 1939. (UCLA Film & Television Archive,…)

No actress had a voice like Jean Arthur. It was an almost undescribable blend of a squeak and froggy croak.

Arthur put that voice to great use in the comedies and dramas she made in the 1930s through the early '50s. She literally purrs when she is kissed by Joel McCrea in George Stevens' 1943 comedy "The More the Merrier," for which she earned her only lead actress Oscar nomination.

But in Arthur's breakout film, Frank Capra's 1936 "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," one can hear the pain and tension in her voice when she tries to persuade Gary Cooper's Mr. Deeds to defend himself at a sanity hearing.

"Her voice is amazing in that scene. You can sense the hysteria that she feels that this man will never stand up for himself," said Richard Jewell, film professor at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. "I think it is some of the best acting in 1930s Hollywood films."


That acting talent is on full display in "The Two Faces of Jean," the UCLA Film & Television Archive retrospective opening Friday at the Billy Wilder Theater with two of her early films at Columbia — the 1934 drama "Whirlpool" and the 1935 John Ford-directed comedy "The Whole Town's Talking," withEdward G. Robinson.

The festival highlights several of her rarely seen early films that have been recently restored by Sony, including 1935's "Party Wire," 1934's "Most Precious Thing in Life," which casts Arthur as, of all things, an elderly maid at a men's college dorm, and the 1935 comedy "If You Could Only Cook."

There are also Howard Hawks' underrated 1939 gem "Only Angels Have Wings" and the World War II comedy "The More the Merrier." One of Arthur's best-loved films, Capra's 1939 masterpiece"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," is screening in the archive's "Family Flicks" series.

"I think Jean Arthur is special because she did not necessarily fit the glamorous star image of Hollywood in terms of being a larger-than-life beauty," said archive head Jan-Christopher Horak. "She was relatively normal looking. She had issues with her cameramen. She thought one side of her was really terrible and the other side, the left side, was acceptable."

Allyson Nadia Field, assistant professor of cinema and media studies at UCLA, believes that though Arthur is thought of as a favorite actress from the golden age of Hollywood, she is in some ways underappreciated.

"I think that probably stems from her versatility and depth," she said. "She is not someone you think you can get a handle on because of her versatility and the roles that she would play."

Field said that Arthur located both the comedic and dramatic aspects of her characters. "When you have these comedies with a strong dramatic core, they really exhibit the strength she has in both genres," said Field.

Above all, Arthur had spunk. "She is like the All-American woman who is actually quite headstrong and knows exactly what she wants," said Horak. "She is not apologetic about it and does not kowtow to men the way it was expected. I think that endeared her to many women in the business."

Arthur also was a working woman in the majority of her films, including playing an attorney in "The Defense Rests," a reporter in "Mr. Deeds," an entertainer in "Only Angels Have Wings" and a congresswoman in Billy Wilder's "A Foreign Affair."

"She was tough," said Jewell. "But at the same time there was a heart of gold inside that always came out no matter how cynical she seems at the beginning of those films. She stepped up and became the right kind of woman at crucial moments."


Despite her confidence on screen, in real life Arthur suffered from painful stage fright. "She was inhibited," said Horak. "She couldn't really deal with people and hated going on publicity tours, hated doing interviews."

Arthur made three films for Stevens — 1942's "The Talk of the Town," "The More the Merrier" and her last film, the classic 1953 Western "Shane."

"When he was casting 'Shane,' he had to move quite quickly," recalled the filmmaker's son, producer/director/writer George Stevens Jr. "Paramount had a commitment with Jean Arthur. So he said to the head of the studio, 'Jean Arthur has never let me down.'"

Jean Arthur, original name Gladys Georgianna Greene (born Oct. 17, 1900, Plattsburgh, N.Y., U.S.—died June 19, 1991, Carmel, Calif.), American film actress known for her cracked, throaty voice, which accentuated her charm and intelligence in a series of successful comedies.


After modeling and performing in small parts on the Broadway stage, Arthur made her screen debut in a silent western, Cameo Kirby (1923). She found her niche as a comedienne in the wacky film The Whole Town’s Talking (1935). Her screen persona as a no-nonsense, emotionally honest heroine proved to have wide appeal, and she starred in such Frank Capra social comedies as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), as well as in such hits as Only Angels Have Wings (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and The More the Merrier (1943), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for best actress.

When her movie contract expired in 1944, Arthur, who had a chronic case of camera jitters, gladly retired from film. She was lured back to Hollywood to star, with Marlene Dietrich, in a comedy of postwar Berlin, Foreign Affair (1948), and in the western classic Shane (1953). She portrayed a lawyer in her own television series, The Jean Arthur Show, in 1966 and made occasional appearances on Broadway during the 1970s before retiring completely from show business. She later taught drama at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and other schools.