Isabel Jewell (July 19, 1907 – April 5, 1972) was an American actress, who rose to prominence in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her more famous films were ''

Ceiling Zero ''Ceiling Zero'' is a 1936 American adventure drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. The picture stars Cagney as daredevil womanizing pilot "Dizzy" Davis and O'Brien as Jake Lee, his war veteran buddy and ...

'', ''

Marked Woman ''Marked Woman'' is a 1937 American dramatic crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciann ...

'', ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'', and ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Shoshoni, Wyoming Shoshoni is a town in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 471 at the 2020 census, a 27.4% decline from 649 at the 2010 census. The town has gained notoriety as a speed trap due to numerous references citing its aggressive ...

on July 19, 1907, Jewell was the daughter of Emory Lee Jewell and Livia A. Willoughby Jewell. Her father was "a prominent...doctor and medical researcher." She was educated at St. Mary's Academy in Minnesota and at Hamilton College in Kentucky.

Career

After years in theatre stock companies, including an 87-week stint in Lincoln, Nebraska, she got a part on Broadway in ''Up Pops the Devil'' (1930). She received glowing critical reviews for ''Blessed Event'' (1932) as well. Jewell's film debut came in ''

Blessed Event ''Blessed Event'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Lee Tracy as a newspaper gossip columnist who becomes entangled with a gangster. The Tracy character (Alvin Roberts) was reportedly pattern ...

'' (1932). She had been brought to Hollywood by Warner Brothers for the film version of ''

Up Pops the Devil ''Up Pops the Devil'' is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy drama film directed by A. Edward Sutherland. The screenplay concerns an advertising man (Norman Foster) who quits his job to become a novelist, upsetting his wife (Carole Lombard) and str ...

''. Jewell gained other supporting roles, appearing in a variety of films in the early 1930s. She played stereotypical gangsters' women in such films as ''

Manhattan Melodrama ''Manhattan Melodrama'' is a 1934 American pre-Code crime drama film, produced by MGM, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, that stars Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. The movie also provided one of Mickey Rooney's earliest film roles. (Roon ...

'' (1934) and ''

'' (1937). She was well-received playing against type as the seamstress sentenced to death on the guillotine with

Sydney Carton Sydney Carton is a central character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel '' A Tale of Two Cities''. He is a shrewd young Englishman educated at Shrewsbury School, and sometime junior to his fellow barrister Stryver. Carton is portrayed as a brillia ...

(

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

in ''

'' (1935). Her most significant role was Sally Bates in ''

She Had to Choose She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei * ...

''. Jewell's films included ''

'' (1939) (in the role of "that white trash, Emmy Slattery"), ''

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

'' (1940), '' High Sierra'' (1941), and the low-budget ''

The Leopard Man ''The Leopard Man'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur, and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Jean Brooks, and Margo. Based on the book ''Black Alibi'' by Cornell Woolrich, it follows a series of violent murders in a town in Ne ...

'' (1943). By the end of the 1940s, her roles had reduced in significance to the degree that her performances often were uncredited, e.g. ''

The Snake Pit ''The Snake Pit'' is a 1948 American psychological drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick. Based on Mary Jane Ward's 1946 semi-autobiog ...

''. She performed in radio dramas in the 1950s, including '' This Is Your FBI''. In February 1965, she played Madame Ahr, a member of a bank-robbing circus troupe, in an episode of ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' entitled "Circus Trick." In 1972, Jewell appeared opposite

Edie Sedgwick Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress, model and socialite who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Ma ...

in the film ''

Ciao! Manhattan ''Ciao! Manhattan'' is a 1972 American avant garde film starring Edie Sedgwick. Written and directed by John Palmer and David Weisman, Warhol superstar Susan Bottomly (International Velvet) was initially intended to star in the film. When Sedgw ...

''. Her final film was the

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

Sweet Kill ''Sweet Kill'' (also known as ''A Kiss from Eddie'' and ''The Arousers'') is a 1973 B-movie written and directed by future Academy Award winner Curtis Hanson. The film was Hanson's directorial debut and was executive-produced by Roger Corman. It s ...

'' (1973), the directorial debut of

Curtis Hanson Curtis Lee Hanson (March 24, 1945 – September 20, 2016) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Reno, Nevada, Hanson grew up in Los Angeles. After dropping out of high school, Hanson worked as photographer and edito ...

Personal life

Jewell was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

who supported

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

's campaign during the 1952 presidential election. She was also a practicing

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. Jewell's first marriage (which "was not generally known during Jewell's lifetime... ormentioned in the press during her heyday in American films") occurred when she wed Lovell "Cowboy" Underwood when she was 19. In the mid to late 1930s, Jewell was seen at nightclubs with actor

William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in more than 80 feature f ...

. In 1936, she was engaged to actor

Owen Crump Owen Edward Crump (December 30, 1903 – February 13, 1998) was an American screenwriter, film director, film producer, radio personality, and stage actor. He worked alongside Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios and made propaganda ...

, marrying in 1939 and divorcing in 1941. In 1941, Jewell married actor Paul Marion, who was then a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the United States Army. They separated in 1943, and were divorced on May 12, 1944.

Death and legacy

Jewell died in Los Angeles, California on April 5, 1972, aged 64, from suicide after taking an overdose of

barbiturates Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as ...

. Her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. In 1960, Jewell was recognized with a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

for her contribution to motion pictures. The star is located at 1560 Vine Street.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jewell, Isabel 1907 births 1972 suicides American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses People from Fremont County, Wyoming Actresses from Wyoming 20th-century American actresses Barbiturates-related deaths Drug-related suicides in California Wyoming Democrats California Democrats 1972 deaths American Episcopalians Hamilton College (Kentucky) alumni Warner Bros. contract players Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players