Shirley Jones a Western Pa. girl at heart

Shirley Jones' career is truly something of a fairy tale and a long way from her Westmoreland County roots.

Not only has she won an Academy Award, worked with many of the biggest names of Hollywood's golden age of films, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but she also became a mother figure to millions for her iconic performance in the 1970s TV show, “The Partridge Family.”

Jones, who just turned 82, will be appearing this weekend at the pop-culture memorabilia show, Steel City Con. She will be available for autographs and photos and will hosting a “Partridge Family” Q&A session. It's a rare Western Pennsylvania appearance for Jones.

“I don't get there very often,” says Jones in a recent telephone interview from her home in Encino, Calif. “I'm kind of really excited to see my cousins. I'll get to see some friends, some old friends.”

“I just like to visit Downtown Pittsburgh,” she says. “It changed so much from when I grew up. It was a steel city. I remember every weekend, every Saturday, my father would drive us to Pittsburgh. I was a great fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I'm an only child and my mother always wanted me to go shopping in Pittsburgh, and — guess what — I'd rather go to the Pirates game with my father, so I'm a real fan. I just love the city and still do.

“I've played there many times in the theaters,” she says. “I went to the Pittsburgh Playhouse when I was a teenager, and studied dance and drama. And, took singing lessons there in Pittsburgh. I started when I was 12 years old. So, it's my home.”

Shirley Mae Jones was born in 1934 in Charleroi, but she grew up as a tomboy in small town Smithton, where her family moved when she was a toddler. Her grandfather founded Jones Brewing Company, maker of Stoney's Beer. The family ran Sweeney's Lounge on Route 51 in Belle Vernon. She went to South Huntingdon High School.

She was named Shirley after famed 1930s child star Shirley Temple. She says that many people have incorrectly assumed that her middle name was named after vaudeville and film legend Mae West, but Jones was actually named after her aunt. Ironically, the first star Jones ever met was West, who was performing at the Twin Coaches supper club in Rostraver around 1954.

As a child, Jones spent a lot of time at Conneaut Lake Park. “My aunt had a cottage there and every summer my girlfriends and I would go up there and spent most of the summer up there,” she says. “Probably three weeks or a month, we had a great time. I just loved it.”

Broadway, here she comes

Unlike many aspiring stars, there was no long struggle to find her first job. She got her first Broadway role from musical legends Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

“They were my mentors,” she says. “They were the ones that really got me into the business. Just out of an audition, because I was on my way to college to become a veterinarian. And I went through an open audition for the casting director and never got to college.”

After a brief Broadway stint and barely old enough to legally buy alcohol, Jones became a movie star from her first film, “Oklahoma!”, the 1955 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. As a teen, she had a teenage crush on screen legend Burt Lancaster. A decade later, she'd be sharing a passionate, on-screen kiss with him in “Elmer Gantry” (1960). For her portrayal against her “good girl” type from her film debut, she was rewarded with a best supporting actress Oscar.

She keeps the Oscar displayed quite prominently in her home: “It's right in my living room, when you come in my front door, it's the first thing you see.”

Her children's reaction is not a big deal.

“I think they're very proud of it,” she says. “When the three of them are together, they say, ‘Who's getting it mom? Who's gonna get it?' Well, guess what? I made a deal that each one of them can keep it for a year, then they have to start taking it around again. Sean, first, Patrick then Ryan.”

Working with film legends

In her film career, she has worked with some of the greatest actors Hollywood ever produced: Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly, Marlon Brando, James Cagney, Henry Fonda, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and four-time, Oscar-winning best director John Ford. She also has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes and Emmy awards.

Jones has especially fond memories of working with area film legends Stewart and Kelly in the “Cheyenne Social Club.”

“Loved it, it was a wonderful film,” Jones says, of the 1970 Western directed by Kelly and starring Stewart, Jones and Fonda. “I'm a giant fan of both of them and then having the opportunity to work with them — being from my hometown. It was great. It was a wonderful experience. I did two films with Jimmy. And, Gene, I adored. I admired him so much and he directed the film. And it was great. Yeah, we talked about Pittsburgh a lot.”

As Hollywood was making fewer musicals in the late 1960s, Jones was fielding offers for television work.

“I didn't want to do it,” she says. “First of all, agents and managers and everybody said, ‘Don't do television series, Shirley, 'cause it will ruin your movie career. If it is successful, it will be the end of your movie career forever.' So, that was what I was getting from everybody.”

Jones was offered the role of Carol Brady in “The Brady Bunch.”

“I thought, you know, I really don't want to be the mom taking the roast out of the oven,” she says. “I mean, that's not a part I really want to play.”

The role went to her good friend from her Broadway days, Florence Henderson. “I met her when we both started out, in New York,” says Jones. “And we were good friends — and still are.”

Becoming a mother to millions

Then came an offer she couldn't refuse: the role of Shirley Partridge in “The Partridge Family.”

“But, when Partridge came up, that was a whole different cup of tea for me, 'cause I was a widow, and I was raising my kids and we were all in show business,” she says with a laugh. “I thought, wow, it's a half hour show and I get to stay home and raise my kids, and so it was a perfect time for me.”

“Yea, it was fun,” she says. “We had a wonderful time. David is my stepson and he became a star out of it. ... I was the first person cast in the series.”

A producer told her they were thinking of casting Cassidy and she said she thought it was a great idea. Jones says Cassidy didn't know she was starring in the series when he came on the set for his screen test.

“I came on the set and he turned around and said, ‘What are you doing here?' I said, ‘I'm your mother!' ”

In 2013, she published her steamy, self-titled autobiography, “Shirley Jones.” She says that the response has been generally positive. “Now, my kids, on the other hand, were not thrilled,” she says. “My son Patrick said, ‘Mom, I've never read the book and I'm never going to read the book.' I said, ‘OK.' ”

Last year, her beloved husband Marty Ingels passed away.

“We were married 40 years and he made me laugh every day,” she says. “He was an incredible comedian. He'd done several movies as well and a television series. Everybody loved his humor. He was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn and that's all you need to say. I mean, every word out of his mouth was hysterical. And that's what got me.”

She still enjoys watching the classic films and finds it strange to come across herself on the screen.

“Oh yeah,” she says with a laugh. “That happens. I'll be watching Turner Classics and they'll show the movies they're going to be showing next week ... and there's my face.

“I can watch Turner Classic Movies all day long,” she says. “As a matter of fact, I have them on right now. I just love old movies. And, you know, I've worked with so many of the people and unfortunately most of them are all gone now. I'm 82 and most of them are older than me. I love them.”

Steve Segal is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.

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Top 5 movies

While Jones is virtually synonymous with television mom Shirley Partridge, she was also as a star on Broadway and in some Hollywood classic films. Here are five of the best.

“Oklahoma!” (1955): Jones made her big-screen debut as ingenue Laurey Williams in this classic Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical. The cast also included Gordon MacRae, Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame and Eddie Albert. The next year, Jones was again partnered with MacRae in Rodgers and Hammerstein's “Carousel.”

“Elmer Gantry” (1960): Jones' magnum opus was her performance as Lulu Bains, a minister's daughter who ends up a prostitute. Although the film lost the best-picture Oscar to Billy Wilder's “The Apartment,” Jones won the best supporting actress category. The film — which also starred Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy — is based on a Sinclair Lewis novel.

“Music Man” (1962): Jones sang and danced her way through the Meredith Willson musical as Marian “the Librarian” Paroo. Robert Preston reprised his Tony-winning Broadway role as the movie's protagonist, “Professor” Harold Hill. The cast included other veteran character actors, including Paul Ford (“Phil Silvers Show/Sergeant Bilko”) and Buddy Hackett. Marion's younger brother was played by Ronny Howard, who later became famous — both as an actor and Oscar-winning director.

“Courtship of Eddie's Father” (1963): Jones reunited with Howard for this Vincente Minnelli-directed comedy about widowed father (Glenn Ford) dealing with raising a son.

“Bedtime Story” (1964): Jones spars with film legends Marlon Brando and David Niven about con artists conning themselves and everyone else in this hidden gem. It's basically the same plot as “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” the 1988 film with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. There are old VHS versions available online.