Jean Kerr (born Bridget Jean Collins; July 10, 1922 – January 5, 2003) was an American author and playwright who authored the 1957 bestseller '' Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and the plays ''King of Hearts'' in 1954 and '' Mary, Mary'' in 1961.

Early life and education

Kerr was born on July 10, 1922, in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

to Irish immigrant parents Tom and Kitty Collins, and grew up on Electric Street in Scranton. She attended Marywood Seminary, the topic of her humorous short story "When I was Queen of the May." She received a bachelor's degree from Marywood College in Scranton and attended

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

, where she received her master's degree in 1945. A nun at Marywood persuaded her to drop her first name, because "only Irish washerwomen are named Biddie".

Career

The Kerrs worked together on several projects, including a 1946 adaptation of the novel, '' The Song of Bernadette.'' They contributed lyrics and sketches to the musical ''Touch and Go'', and co-authored ''

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an impudent old woman who enters the forest home of three anthropomorphic bachelor bears while th ...

'' (1958), a Broadway musical comedy about the early days of silent film that ran from October 11, 1958, to February 28, 1959, and won two

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s, for Best Actress in a Featured Role (Pat Stanley) and Best Actor in a Featured Role ( Russell Nype). The Kerrs also collaborated on the

-winning ''King of Hearts'' (1954), which ran for 279 performances; he directed the play that she co-wrote with Eleanor Brooke. ''King of Hearts'' was adapted for the screen in 1956 under the title '' That Certain Feeling''. The film starred

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

. Jean Kerr wrote ''Jenny Kissed Me'', which was produced in December 1948. She wrote the hit comedy '' Mary, Mary,'' which ran on Broadway from 1961 through 1964, for more than 1500 performances, and was brought to the screen under the same title in a 1963 film, starring

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...

and Barry Nelson, which was a big hit. She wrote sketches for

John Murray Anderson John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian theatre director and theatre producer, producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and lighting designer, who made his career in the United States, primarily in ...

's ''

Almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

''. Her book '' Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' was a big success, and it was made into a feature film in 1960. NBC also produced a 58-episode situation comedy starring Pat Crowley from 1965 to 1967, based on the book She then wrote ''The Snake Has All the Lines'' in 1960. Kerr's play ''Finishing Touches'' ran from February to July 1973. Her other works include the plays ''Poor Richard'' (1964) and ''Lunch Hour'' (1980). She also wrote the books ''Penny Candy'' (1970) and ''How I Got to Be Perfect'' (1978). Her last play, ''Lunch Hour'', was staged in 1980, and featured Sam Waterson and

Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian. She was one of the seven Saturday Night Live cast members, original cast members of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy series ...

. Kerr was skeptical of casting Radner in the play, but

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

persuaded her to watch '' Gilda Live'', and Kerr was won over by her performance in the film, and she was offered the part. Kerr was known to author her manuscripts and articles in longhand, and more than often, they were written in the family car, and her husband then typed them. American author Ernest K. Gann wrote in his book '' Twilight for the Gods'', that "anyone who reads it 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' will consider it the most reasonable thing in the world that she prefers to do her writing seated in an automobile and parked two blocks away from her Larchmont, New York, home". American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

Dick Hodgins Jr. drew a

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

of Kerr in 1963, which was featured in several newspapers at the time.

Personal life

Kerr was married to New York drama critic Walter Kerr; they were married on August 16, 1943. The marriage lasted until his death in 1996. The couple had six children; Christopher, twins Colin and John, Gilbert, Gregory, and Kitty. The Kerrs bought a house in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

, and later settled in

Larchmont, New York Larchmont is a Village (New York), village located within the Town (New York), Town of Mamaroneck (town), New York, Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York. Larchmont is a suburb of New York City, located approximately northeast of Midt ...

in 1955. Their house in Larchmont was frequently characterized in her writings; it featured a two-story fireplace, turrets, a medieval courtyard, and a 32-bell

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

which played the duet from the opera ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' at noon every day. The house was previously owned by Charles King, who test drove

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

's first car. She died of pneumonia in White Plains, New York in 2003.

Books

* '' Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' (1957) * ''The Snake Has All the Lines'' (1960) * ''Penny Candy'' (1970) * ''How I Got to Be Perfect'' (1979)

Plays

* ''The Song of Bernadette'' (1946) * '' Our Hearts Were Young and Gay'' (1946) * ''Jenny Kissed Me'' (1948) * ''Touch-and-Go'' (1949) * '' John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' (1953) * ''King of Hearts'' (1954) * '' Goldilocks: A Musical'' (1958) * '' Mary, Mary'' (1961) * ''Poor Richard'' (1964) * ''Finishing Touches'' (1973) * ''Lunch Hour'' (1980)

Notes

References

External links

*
Walter and Jean Kerr Papers
at the

Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) is a major archive of motion picture, television, radio, and theater research materials. Located in the headquarters building of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, th ...

Life Magazine Images: Walter & Jean Kerr
*
Photo slideshow of house in Larchmont
�
watch on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Jean 1922 births 2003 deaths Marywood University alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Catholic University of America alumni Writers from Scranton, Pennsylvania Writers from New Rochelle, New York People from Larchmont, New York Laetare Medal recipients American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers American people of Irish descent Catholics from New York (state) Catholics from Pennsylvania 21st-century American women