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T. C. Jones

January 01, 1970

Thomas Craig "T. C." Jones (October 26, 1920 – September 25, 1971) was an American female impersonator, actor, and dancer who from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s performed on stage, in nightclubs, films, and on television. He was known chiefly in the entertainment industry for his imitations in full costume of many famous actresses and other women, including Tallulah Bankhead, Mae West, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Édith Piaf, and Carmen Miranda.[1][2] In 1959, the American magazine Time described Jones as "probably the best female impersonator since vaudeville's late famed Julian Eltinge".[3]

T. C. Jones
Jones, 1965
Born
Thomas Craig Jones

(1920-10-26)26 October 1920
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died25 September 1971(1971-09-25) (aged 50)
Duarte, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Female impersonator, actor, dancer
SpouseConnie S. Dickson

Early life and education edit

T. C. Jones was born in 1920 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Prior to his entertainment career, he attended Bethany College in West Virginia to study for the Campbellite ministry, but midway through his education there he was "bitten by the acting bug" after spending one summer performing in plays in a stock company.[4] That stage experience convinced him to leave Bethany and return to Pennsylvania to enroll in drama school at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh.[1] Soon, with the outbreak of World War II, Jones joined the United States Navy and served as a pharmacist's mate at naval hospitals in Philadelphia and in Jacksonville, Florida.[4]

Professional career edit

After his discharge from naval service, Jones moved to New York City in the fall of 1943, hoping to resume his plans for a stage career. He secured a job as a "chorus boy" in Willie Howard's Broadway musical My Dear Public before obtaining more substantial parts in the productions Jackpot and Sadie Thompson.[4][5] During times when he was not being cast in additional plays, Jones served as an assistant stage manager, a position that afforded him many opportunities to observe and study closely the speech patterns, mannerisms, and costume choices of a variety of actresses.[6] Soon he began imitating those performers and impressing his theatre colleagues with his talent for mimicry, so much so that they encouraged him to display those abilities to audiences. By 1946 Jones began working professionally in New York as a female impersonator, first with the Provincetown Players in Greenwich Village.[4][7] Cast as "Fat Fanny", he performed his first impersonations on stage in the Players' production of E. E. Cummings' play Him.[4] He later recalled how simply his performance specialty started at that time: "One night...another of the players brought me some...material that was hilarious. The only catch was that it more or less required a woman to deliver it. He suggested I do an impersonation."[8] Public reaction to his performance was so positive that it led Jones to develop a nightclub act featuring his female characters.[4]

Jones next moved to the Jewel Box Revue in Miami,[9] where he presented and refined his impersonations of stars such as Tallulah Bankhead, Katharine Hepburn, Édith Piaf, Claudette Colbert, and Bette Davis.[10] Jones's performances, especially his portrayal of Bankhead, attracted the attention of theatrical producer Leonard Sillman, who cast him in New Faces of 1956, a revue directed by Paul Lynde.[8][11] Although some people had strongly advised Sillman not to cast Jones, the producer stated, "I never think of T.C. as a female impersonator, as a man imitating a woman. T.C. on stage is simply an extraordinarily talented woman."[12] Jones in the revue entered the stage by descending a staircase to the tune "Isn't She Lovely" and, as Bankhead, acted as mistress of ceremonies.[13] The show proved to be a hit, running for 220 performances.[11] The following year Jones starred in Mask and Gown, another Broadway revue. Jones toured with Mask and Gown nationally and internationally, but it was unsuccessful.[14]

Jones in the latter half of the 1950s appeared in regional theatrical productions, including The Man Who Came to Dinner.[3] He also played the nightclub circuit, performed in lounges of major Las Vegas hotels, and recorded two albums: the original cast recording of Mask and Gown (1958) and T. C. Jones – Himself! (not released until 1961). Jones recorded too an album with the original cast for New Faces of 1956 (1956), and he released the single "Champagne Cocktails" b/w "Sunless Sunday" (1957). On television, after performing twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, he was cast in several television series in the 1960s. He portrays the psychotic serial killer Nurse Betty Ames in "An Unlocked Window", a 1965 Edgar Award-winning episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, as well as a similar type role in "Night of the Running Death", a 1967 episode of The Wild Wild West.[15][16] Jones performed too in several Hollywood films in that period. He appears in a male role opposite Jayne Mansfield in the 1963 sex comedy Promises! Promises!, in the role of Henry with Mamie Van Doren in the 1964 comedy 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt, as Mrs. Terry in the 1968 thriller The Name of the Game Is Kill!, and in dual male/female roles as Mr. and Mrs. Ace in The Monkees' 1968 satirical musical Head.[17][18]

Despite his additional work in films and on television, Jones in the 1960s continued his regular stage and nightclubs shows. The Los Angeles Times, for example, announces the following in its August 6, 1965 edition: "Wardrobe and wigs valued at more than $100,000 will be worn by T. C. Jones, female impersonator, when he opens Tuesday in his one-man revue, 'That Was No Lady,' at the Ivar Theatre."[19]

Personal life and death edit

Jones in the 1950s married Connie S. Dickson, a former actress and competitive fencer, who owned a chain of beauty parlors in San Francisco.[20] She, in fact, met Jones for the first time when he visited one of her parlors in search of a new wig for his performances.[3] The couple maintained a home in San Francisco for many years, sharing it at one point with 19 Siamese cats.[4] They later relocated to Covina, east of Los Angeles. where they were residing at the time of T.C.'s death.[1]

In September 1971, after being treated for cancer for two years, Jones died at age 50 at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, California. He was interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California. Three years after Jones's death, writing for Newhouse News Service, the correspondent and theatre critic William A. Raidy reflected on the entertainer's talent and shared a personal experience that underscored how effective and convincing Jones was in his performances:

I remember being in the audience during a matinee [of New Faces of 1956] in Boston. Jones had done savage but hilarious imitations of Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead. The two elderly Back Bay matrons next to me were enjoying his routines immensely, but had no inkling of his true gender. At the end of the show T.C. came out and, as was the tradition in those days, took off his woman's wig, bearing a very shiny bald head. One of the ladies exclaimed, "Oh, the poor old girl's bald."[21]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "T. C. Jones, Impersonator Of Actresses", obituary, The Washington Post (Washington, D. C.), September 28, 1971, p. C4. ProQuest.
  2. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. "T. C. Jones, Brilliant Female Impersonator", Los Angeles Times, September 2, 1958, p. B8. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan; subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.
  3. ^ a b c . Time Magazine. 1959-07-20. Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Who's Who in the Cast: T. C. Jones", biographical profile in Playbill (New York City), program for Jones's Broadway show Mask and Gown, John Golden Theatre, September 23, 1957, pp. 35-36.
  5. ^ "T. C. Jones", Internet Broadway Database (IBDB), The Broadway League, Manhattan, New York. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "T.C. Jones, 50, Impersonator of Famous Actresses, Is Dead", The New York Times, September 27, 1971, p. 38. ProQuest.
  7. ^ Senelick, Laurence. The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre. Abingdon-on-Thames, England: Routledge, 2000, p. 355.
  8. ^ a b Harnisch, Larry (2008-09-15). "T.C. Jones, male actress". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  9. ^ Wilmeth, et al, p. 2554
  10. ^ Senelick, pp. 355–358.
  11. ^ a b Botto, et al, p. 285.
  12. ^ Quoted in Senelick, p. 356.
  13. ^ Senelick, p. 356.
  14. ^ Wallraff, p. 87.
  15. ^ "Internet Movie Database". IMDb. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  16. ^ Tropiano, pp. 57–58.
  17. ^ Krafsur, et al, p. 461.
  18. ^ Barrios, p. 329.
  19. ^ "Impersonator Due", Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1965, p. C8. ProQuest.
  20. ^ "A Top Female Impersonator And Mimic Coming", South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), June 13, 1962, p. 7. ProQuest.
  21. ^ Raidy, William A. "Get Ready Detroit: New York Has Taken Drag As Its Darling", Detroit Free Press, "Entertainment" section, July 7, 1974, p. 7-D. ProQuest.

Bibliography edit

  • Barrios, Richard (2003). Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall. Routledge; ISBN 0-415-92329-8.
  • Botto, Louis, Robert Viagas and Brian Stokes Mitchell (2002). At this Theatre: 100 Years of Broadway Shows, Stories and Stars. Hal Leonard Corporation; ISBN 1-55783-566-7.
  • Krafsur, Richard P., Kenneth W Munden and the American Film Institute (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961-1970. University of California Press; ISBN 0-520-20970-2.
  • Senelick, Laurence (2000). The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre. Routledge; ISBN 0-415-15986-5.
  • Tropiano, Stephen (2002). The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. New York, Applause Theatre and Cinema Books; ISBN 1-55783-557-8.
  • Wallraff, John (2002). From Drags to Riches: The Untold Story of Charles Pierce. Haworth Press; ISBN 1-56023-386-9.
  • Willmeth, Don B. and Leonard Jacobs (2007). The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre. Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0-521-83538-0.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
jones, thomas, craig, jones, october, 1920, september, 1971, american, female, impersonator, actor, dancer, from, 1940s, late, 1960s, performed, stage, nightclubs, films, television, known, chiefly, entertainment, industry, imitations, full, costume, many, fam. Thomas Craig T C Jones October 26 1920 September 25 1971 was an American female impersonator actor and dancer who from the mid 1940s to the late 1960s performed on stage in nightclubs films and on television He was known chiefly in the entertainment industry for his imitations in full costume of many famous actresses and other women including Tallulah Bankhead Mae West Judy Garland Katharine Hepburn Bette Davis Edith Piaf and Carmen Miranda 1 2 In 1959 the American magazine Time described Jones as probably the best female impersonator since vaudeville s late famed Julian Eltinge 3 T C JonesJones 1965BornThomas Craig Jones 1920 10 26 26 October 1920Scranton Pennsylvania U S Died25 September 1971 1971 09 25 aged 50 Duarte California U S Occupation s Female impersonator actor dancerSpouseConnie S Dickson Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Professional career 3 Personal life and death 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksEarly life and education editT C Jones was born in 1920 in Scranton Pennsylvania Prior to his entertainment career he attended Bethany College in West Virginia to study for the Campbellite ministry but midway through his education there he was bitten by the acting bug after spending one summer performing in plays in a stock company 4 That stage experience convinced him to leave Bethany and return to Pennsylvania to enroll in drama school at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh 1 Soon with the outbreak of World War II Jones joined the United States Navy and served as a pharmacist s mate at naval hospitals in Philadelphia and in Jacksonville Florida 4 Professional career editAfter his discharge from naval service Jones moved to New York City in the fall of 1943 hoping to resume his plans for a stage career He secured a job as a chorus boy in Willie Howard s Broadway musical My Dear Public before obtaining more substantial parts in the productions Jackpot and Sadie Thompson 4 5 During times when he was not being cast in additional plays Jones served as an assistant stage manager a position that afforded him many opportunities to observe and study closely the speech patterns mannerisms and costume choices of a variety of actresses 6 Soon he began imitating those performers and impressing his theatre colleagues with his talent for mimicry so much so that they encouraged him to display those abilities to audiences By 1946 Jones began working professionally in New York as a female impersonator first with the Provincetown Players in Greenwich Village 4 7 Cast as Fat Fanny he performed his first impersonations on stage in the Players production of E E Cummings play Him 4 He later recalled how simply his performance specialty started at that time One night another of the players brought me some material that was hilarious The only catch was that it more or less required a woman to deliver it He suggested I do an impersonation 8 Public reaction to his performance was so positive that it led Jones to develop a nightclub act featuring his female characters 4 Jones next moved to the Jewel Box Revue in Miami 9 where he presented and refined his impersonations of stars such as Tallulah Bankhead Katharine Hepburn Edith Piaf Claudette Colbert and Bette Davis 10 Jones s performances especially his portrayal of Bankhead attracted the attention of theatrical producer Leonard Sillman who cast him in New Faces of 1956 a revue directed by Paul Lynde 8 11 Although some people had strongly advised Sillman not to cast Jones the producer stated I never think of T C as a female impersonator as a man imitating a woman T C on stage is simply an extraordinarily talented woman 12 Jones in the revue entered the stage by descending a staircase to the tune Isn t She Lovely and as Bankhead acted as mistress of ceremonies 13 The show proved to be a hit running for 220 performances 11 The following year Jones starred in Mask and Gown another Broadway revue Jones toured with Mask and Gown nationally and internationally but it was unsuccessful 14 Jones in the latter half of the 1950s appeared in regional theatrical productions including The Man Who Came to Dinner 3 He also played the nightclub circuit performed in lounges of major Las Vegas hotels and recorded two albums the original cast recording of Mask and Gown 1958 and T C Jones Himself not released until 1961 Jones recorded too an album with the original cast for New Faces of 1956 1956 and he released the single Champagne Cocktails b w Sunless Sunday 1957 On television after performing twice on The Ed Sullivan Show he was cast in several television series in the 1960s He portrays the psychotic serial killer Nurse Betty Ames in An Unlocked Window a 1965 Edgar Award winning episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as well as a similar type role in Night of the Running Death a 1967 episode of The Wild Wild West 15 16 Jones performed too in several Hollywood films in that period He appears in a male role opposite Jayne Mansfield in the 1963 sex comedy Promises Promises in the role of Henry with Mamie Van Doren in the 1964 comedy 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt as Mrs Terry in the 1968 thriller The Name of the Game Is Kill and in dual male female roles as Mr and Mrs Ace in The Monkees 1968 satirical musical Head 17 18 Despite his additional work in films and on television Jones in the 1960s continued his regular stage and nightclubs shows The Los Angeles Times for example announces the following in its August 6 1965 edition Wardrobe and wigs valued at more than 100 000 will be worn by T C Jones female impersonator when he opens Tuesday in his one man revue That Was No Lady at the Ivar Theatre 19 Personal life and death editJones in the 1950s married Connie S Dickson a former actress and competitive fencer who owned a chain of beauty parlors in San Francisco 20 She in fact met Jones for the first time when he visited one of her parlors in search of a new wig for his performances 3 The couple maintained a home in San Francisco for many years sharing it at one point with 19 Siamese cats 4 They later relocated to Covina east of Los Angeles where they were residing at the time of T C s death 1 In September 1971 after being treated for cancer for two years Jones died at age 50 at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte California He was interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier California Three years after Jones s death writing for Newhouse News Service the correspondent and theatre critic William A Raidy reflected on the entertainer s talent and shared a personal experience that underscored how effective and convincing Jones was in his performances I remember being in the audience during a matinee of New Faces of 1956 in Boston Jones had done savage but hilarious imitations of Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead The two elderly Back Bay matrons next to me were enjoying his routines immensely but had no inkling of his true gender At the end of the show T C came out and as was the tradition in those days took off his woman s wig bearing a very shiny bald head One of the ladies exclaimed Oh the poor old girl s bald 21 References edit a b c T C Jones Impersonator Of Actresses obituary The Washington Post Washington D C September 28 1971 p C4 ProQuest Scheuer Philip K T C Jones Brilliant Female Impersonator Los Angeles Times September 2 1958 p B8 ProQuest Historical Newspapers Ann Arbor Michigan subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library a b c The Impersonator Time Magazine 1959 07 20 Archived from the original on May 10 2009 Retrieved March 16 2015 a b c d e f g Who s Who in the Cast T C Jones biographical profile in Playbill New York City program for Jones s Broadway show Mask and Gown John Golden Theatre September 23 1957 pp 35 36 T C Jones Internet Broadway Database IBDB The Broadway League Manhattan New York Retrieved September 2 2020 T C Jones 50 Impersonator of Famous Actresses Is Dead The New York Times September 27 1971 p 38 ProQuest Senelick Laurence The Changing Room Sex Drag and Theatre Abingdon on Thames England Routledge 2000 p 355 a b Harnisch Larry 2008 09 15 T C Jones male actress The Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2009 01 26 Wilmeth et al p 2554 Senelick pp 355 358 a b Botto et al p 285 Quoted in Senelick p 356 Senelick p 356 Wallraff p 87 Internet Movie Database IMDb Retrieved 2011 08 18 Tropiano pp 57 58 Krafsur et al p 461 Barrios p 329 Impersonator Due Los Angeles Times August 6 1965 p C8 ProQuest A Top Female Impersonator And Mimic Coming South China Morning Post Hong Kong June 13 1962 p 7 ProQuest Raidy William A Get Ready Detroit New York Has Taken Drag As Its Darling Detroit Free Press Entertainment section July 7 1974 p 7 D ProQuest Bibliography editBarrios Richard 2003 Screened Out Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall Routledge ISBN 0 415 92329 8 Botto Louis Robert Viagas and Brian Stokes Mitchell 2002 At this Theatre 100 Years of Broadway Shows Stories and Stars Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 1 55783 566 7 Krafsur Richard P Kenneth W Munden and the American Film Institute 1997 The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States Feature Films 1961 1970 University of California Press ISBN 0 520 20970 2 Senelick Laurence 2000 The Changing Room Sex Drag and Theatre Routledge ISBN 0 415 15986 5 Tropiano Stephen 2002 The Prime Time Closet A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV New York Applause Theatre and Cinema Books ISBN 1 55783 557 8 Wallraff John 2002 From Drags to Riches The Untold Story of Charles Pierce Haworth Press ISBN 1 56023 386 9 Willmeth Don B and Leonard Jacobs 2007 The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 83538 0 External links edit nbsp Biography portal T C Jones at IMDb T C Jones at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp T C Jones fansite accessed March 20 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title T C Jones amp oldid 1145566403, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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