Jean Bell (born Annie Lee Morgan on November 23, 1944) is a former ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' Playmate of the Month, and one of the first African American women to feature in this role. She later had a career as an actress in movies, most prominently in '' TNT Jackson'', in which she played the title character, and supporting roles in '' Mean Streets'' and '' The Klansman'', as well as occasional TV appearances.

Biography

Bell grew up in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, along with three younger sisters and attended

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

, majoring in business administration. Jean was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

woman to participate in the Miss Texas Pageant, which is part of the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

competition. She aspired to professional bowling or acting. When she appeared in the October 1969 issue of ''Playboy'', Bell was only the second African-American woman to be the

centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle Folio, sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a Nudity, nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched maga ...

(the first being Jennifer Jackson, in March 1965). Her centerfold was photographed by Don Klumpp. A few months later, Bell became the first black person to grace the magazine cover. Darine Stern, who is often erroneously credited with this distinction, was actually the first black woman to appear alone on the cover of ''Playboy'', in the October 1971 issue. Bell was featured with four other playmates on the January 1970 cover. After Bell's appearance in ''Playboy'', she enjoyed a brief acting career, working on such films as '' Mean Streets'' and '' The Klansman'' (for some roles she was credited as Jeanne Bell). Her most popular role was the title character in 1975's '' TNT Jackson''. Bell dated

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

and helped him quit drinking, thus being credited with reuniting him afterwards with

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

. An Earl Wilson column in September 1975 revealed Bell's three-month friendship with the actor. She visited Burton at his villa in Céligny, Switzerland, during her effort to help him "dry out". With his assistance Bell acquired a place of her own in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Ca ...

. Around that time, Bell worked at Splendors Gentlemen's Club in Houston as "Bunny". Bell posed nude again for ''Playboy'' in the December 1979 pictorial "Playmates Forever!", and subsequently disappeared from public life. In 1986 she married Gary Judis, then-Chairman of the Board of the California Independent Mortgage Brokers Association, after an eight-year courtship. They were married for 44 years until he died in 2022. On Feb. 23, 2019, she was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Oldest Competitive Rope Skipper at the age of 75 and has since broken that record multiple times. She also paints and has designed illustrations for children's books by Cal Wilson.Multi-talented Jean Bell Judis Still Blazing Trails at 76
LA Sentinel, January 23, 2020

Film and television work

Films

* '' The Choirboys'' (1977) .... Fanny Forbes * '' Casanova & Co.'' (1977) .... Fatme * '' The Muthers'' (1976) .... Kelly * ''Disco 9000'' (1976) (as Jeanie Bell) .... Karen * '' TNT Jackson'' (1975) .... Diana "TNT" Jackson * '' Policewomen'' (1974) .... Pam Harris * '' The Klansman'' (1974) .... Mary Anne * ''Negro es un bello color'' (1974) .... Joyce * '' Three the Hard Way'' (1974) .... Polly * '' Mean Streets'' (1973) .... Diane * '' Black Gunn'' (1972) .... Lisa * '' Trouble Man'' (1972) .... Leona * '' Melinda'' (1972) .... Jean

Television

* '' Starsky and Hutch'' - "Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty" (1977) .... Kate * ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

'' - "Carla" (1977) .... Midge * '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' - "Primal Scream" (1975) .... Rosetta Mason * ''

That's My Mama ''That's My Mama'' is an American television sitcom that was the first series to be produced by Columbia Pictures Television and originally broadcast for 39 episodes on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 4, 1974, to December 24, ...

'' - "Clifton's Big Move" (1974) .... Ginger * '' Police Woman'' - "Seven-Eleven" (1974) .... Marie * '' Sanford and Son'' - "Lamont, Is That You?" (1973) .... Judy Ann * '' The Beverly Hillbillies'' ** "Hotel for Women" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Three-Day Reprieve" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Shorty Spits the Hook" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Marry Me, Shorty" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell

Trivia

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's '' Kill Bill'' movies, Vivica A. Fox's character uses the alias "Jeannie Bell", a reference to Jean Bell.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Jean 1944 births Living people Actresses from St. Louis Models from St. Louis American film actresses 1960s Playboy Playmates African-American Playboy Playmates African-American female models African-American actresses 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women