Jean Carson

Jean Leete Carson (February 28, 1923 – November 2, 2005) was an American stage, film and television actress best known for her work on the classic 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show as one of the "fun girls". Early life Carson was born in Charleston, West Virginia, to Alexander W. Carson and Sadie (née Leete; a descendant of William Leete, first governor of the Colony of Connecticut). She first became interested in show business as a child, playing a "bad little Indian girl". At the age of 12, she got her first acting job, earning $5 for a small part in a production of Carmen that traveled through her hometown. In high school she was voted Girl Most Likely to Succeed as an Actress. Carson told her mother she was going to be on Broadway. Before she achieved that goal, she attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (precursor institution to Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stage Carson's early theatrical work included acting in productions of the Kanawha Players. She made her Broadway debut in George S. Kaufman's Bravo (1958). Her other Broadway work included Anniversary Waltz with Macdonald Carey, Two Blind Mice with Melvyn Douglas, and Bird Cage, which garnered her a Tony Award nomination.