last nite Carolyn Jones made me watch a minor western made more than a half century ago. in "Three Hours to Kill" she was still blonde. it was a throwaway part as a card dealer in love with boss Laurence Hugo. obviously apprentice work but still intriguing because she was always such a big presence for me.
we were 10 when my best friend Tom & I first saw "House of Wax." I think that was when my love affair began. in the summer of 1958 I became a member of her fan club. when I paid my dues I got this inscribd photo:
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for more than 30 years it's been on the walls of my last 3 houses. so I still see her every day.
probably most people today remember Carolyn Jones for her tv work: from the role of Morticia Addams to Wonder Woman's mother from the mini-series "Roots" to the soap she was doing at the time of her death "Capital." but I treasure her body of screen appearances. her few minutes in "The Bachelor Party" got her an Oscar nod. she romancd Sinatra in Capra's "A Hole in the Head" & Presley in Curtiz's "King Creole." many think her greatest performance was in "Baby Face Nelson" but unfortunately some legal rangling has kept that film from sight for years.
I saw her twice. in a Pinter play in Cleveland. & in the audience of a Broadway show. at the latter I spoke with her at intermission. it was an honor to be able to tell Carolyn Jones how much she meant to me over the decades.
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