Mary Ann Jensen, actress, 57
deb...@comcast.net
Staff Report
REDLANDS Mary Ann Jensen, a professional actress who appeared in a
variety of television programs and films, died of cancer on Aug. 18 at
her parents' home in Redlands. She was 57.
She was born on Sept. 19, 1947, in Kalamazoo, Mich., moved to San Diego
with her family in 1955, and graduated from Madison High School in
1965.
While living in Redlands in the early 1970s, Jensen attended San
Bernardino Valley College and later graduated from Cal State
University, Los Angeles, in 1974.
Jensen was active in theater arts throughout her education and was
awarded the Irene Ryan "Best Actress Award' at the Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in 1974.
She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of
Radio and Television Artists and the Actors Equity Association. She
performed professionally on stage and in a several television shows and
films.
While raising her children, she became an elementary school teacher in
Los Angeles and Edmunds, Wash.
In 1994, she returned to Redlands and was a librarian at the Fontana
Branch of the San Bernardino County Library.
Survivors include her parents, Marion and Arthur Jensen of Redlands; a
daughter, Breanna Collier of Redlands; a son, Matthew Collier of
Sikeston, Mo.; a sister, Patty Jensen-Frost of Redlands; and a brother,
Art Jensen of Redlands.
A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at the First Baptist
Church of Redlands, 51 W. Olive Ave.
Donations can be made to The Acting Bug, 2928 Lake East Dr., Las Vegas,
NV 89117 or to the Contemporary Club Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 298,
Redlands, CA 92373.
deb...@comcast.net
acted under another name?
Brad Ferguson
<deb...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Jensen was active in theater arts throughout her education and was
> awarded the Irene Ryan "Best Actress Award' at the Kennedy Center for
> the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in 1974.
This part made me suspicious (Granny Clampett? The Kennedy Center? In
the same breath?), but there is indeed an "Irene Ryan Best Actress
Award" -- or, rather, there's a prestigious scholarship named for Ryan.
It's a $500 award endowed by the Irene Ryan Foundation of Encino,
California, and since 1972 it's been given to student actors performing
at regional festivals connected with the Kennedy Center's American
College Theater Festival.
The executive director of the Irene Ryan Foundation is actor Kingsley
Colton, who was a pallbearer at Ryan's funeral in 1973. There's a
Foundation award named for him, too.
--
FREE JUDITH MILLER
James Neibaur
> This part made me suspicious (Granny Clampett? The Kennedy Center? In
> the same breath?), but there is indeed an "Irene Ryan Best Actress
> Award" -- or, rather, there's a prestigious scholarship named for Ryan.
When Irene Ryan died, she left a lot of money to be used for scholarships.
Irene Ryan was a writer and vaudeville performer (with husband Tim), and is
noted for playing an enduring character on a classic TV series. In an era
where Tom Hanks and Will Smith can command superstardom, and Robert DeNiro
is hailed as the actor's actor despite a healthier list of bad movies than
good, I have no problem with Kennedy Center and Irene Ryan in the same
breath.
JN
Beowulfie
"James Neibaur" <jnei...@wi.rr.com> wrote in message
news:BF3501CA.5F1A7%jnei...@wi.rr.com...
Ms Ryan made quite a name for herself on Broadway in Pippin..
BsT
AndrewJ
Didn't she suffer an eventually fatal stroke (or was it heart attack)
onstage in PIPPIN?
Jim Beaver
<deb...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1125075398.5...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>A check of Imdb reveals no credits for a Mary Ann Jensen, perhaps she
> acted under another name?
The obit seems to indicate she was active in "theatre arts" for many years.
There are a lot more actors who've never been in a movie than there are
actors who have.
Jim Beaver
Glitter Ninja
><deb...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> A check of Imdb reveals no credits for a Mary Ann Jensen, perhaps she
>> acted under another name?
>The obit seems to indicate she was active in "theatre arts" for many years.
>There are a lot more actors who've never been in a movie than there are
>actors who have.
At first I thought the same thing. The obit said she had been in a
variety of television programs and films, though. Wonder why they
didn't clarify what name she acted under? Just "Mary Jensen" and "Ann
Jensen" didn't get any results.
Stacia