A titan of American theater and television comedy has passed away. Jessie Jones, whose plays have been staged more than 100,000 times worldwide according to her longtime collaborator Jamie Wooten, died March 20 in Washington, D.C., following a prolonged illness. She was 75 years old.
Wooten, who worked alongside Jones for decades as part of the Jones Hope Wooten writing collective, confirmed her death to Deadline. By his assessment, Jones became the most-produced female American playwright through a body of work that reached every U.S. state and more than 25 countries, with translations into languages ranging from Japanese to Bulgarian.
“Jessie Jones was a beautiful, hilarious, and strong Texas woman with personality plus,” Wooten said in a statement.
The breadth of Jones’ career spanned nearly four decades across multiple mediums. Before dedicating herself entirely to playwriting in 2005, she appeared regularly on television screens during the 1980s and 1990s in shows such as “Murphy Brown” and “Melrose Place.” Her acting credits also included “Night Court,” “Designing Women,” “Perfect Strangers,” “Grace Under Fire,” “Judging Amy,” “Cold Case,” and “Who’s the Boss?”
A particularly notable television appearance came during the September 1990 season three premiere of “Murphy Brown.” Jones played Mrs. Betty Hooley, the subject of a street interview conducted by Candice Bergen’s character that goes sideways when Hooley reveals her bigotry on camera, prompting a sharp rebuke from Murphy. She later appeared as a series regular on the short-lived WB sitcom “You’re the One,” though only two episodes aired in April 1998, and had multiple appearances on ABC’s Saturday morning comedy “Fudge.”
Jones entered the world on August 21, 1950, in the Texas Panhandle. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, where theater and design filled her college years, she took an unusual detour. A high school essay and speech contest victory had first introduced her to Washington, D.C., a place she promised herself she would someday return to live. Early in her career, she worked at an Austin television station owned by President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Bird Johnson before turning to entertainment full-time.
Acting became her first pursuit when Nicholas Hope discovered her and cast her in the lead role of his play “A Friend of the Family.” That initial collaboration evolved into a decades-long partnership that would eventually produce some of America’s most beloved Southern comedies.
Television work began for Jones in 1989 with guest spots on “Hooperman” and “Newhart.” From there, she became a familiar face in character roles across the television landscape throughout the following decade.
While still actively pursuing acting roles, Jones ventured into playwriting during the early 1990s. Her first major success came through “Dearly Departed,” a comedy centered on a Southern funeral that she co-wrote with actor David Dean Bottrell. The production premiered off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre in December 1991 and became a phenomenon, staged thousands of times by theater companies of all sizes throughout the country. The play was adapted into the 2001 Fox Searchlight film “Kingdom Come,” with Jones and Bottrell writing the screenplay for the movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Vivica A. Fox.
After leaving acting behind in 2005, Jones committed herself entirely to writing for the stage. Together with Hope and Wooten, she created the Jones Hope Wooten collective, churning out Southern-themed comedies that found audiences across the nation and beyond. The trio’s output exceeded two dozen plays, including titles such as “The Sweet Delilah Swim Club,” “The Red Velvet Cake War,” “Christmas Belles,” and “The Savannah Sipping Society.”
Her writing talents also extended to television, where she contributed scripts to the WB sitcom “For Your Love” and the Emmy-winning children’s program “Teacher’s Pet.”
Outside her professional accomplishments, Jones pursued varied interests and adventures. She studied at the Los Angeles Culinary Academy, took up salsa dancing with dedication, and explored the globe with Wooten, journeying to destinations including New Zealand, Morocco, and Easter Island. True to her character, Jones declined a formal memorial service. “Jessie felt every performance of one of her plays was a celebration, so she’s covered,” Wooten wrote.
Surviving family members include her sisters Ellen and Laura, brother-in-law Jim McCarthy, niece Margaret McCarthy, and nephews Tommy McCarthy, Todd Hyso, and Paul Hyso. The family has requested memorial contributions be directed to Planned Parenthood.
Part of Jones’ ashes will be scattered in Rome, Italy, a city she deeply loved, while the rest will eventually be combined with the ashes of Hope and Wooten, her creative partners. As her obituary notes, “Jessie Jones did something amazing with her one wild and precious life: She made the world laugh.”
