Jean Hale

In New York, she studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse under Sydney Pollack and met fellow student Dabney Coleman, whom she later married. To support herself, she modeled for the Conover and Huntington Hartford agencies. Her first professional acting job was a Hudnut commercial. She appeared as a dancer on the 1960 series "Sing Along with Mitch" and in the plays "The Male Animal" and "Everybody Loves Opal." Agent Len Luskin signed her in 1960. She turned down a part in "BUtterfield 8" to stay in New York with Coleman. They married on December 11, 1961, and he accompanied her to Puerto Rico for her debut film, "Felicia," which was never released. Her second film, the low-budget horror "Violent Midnight" (1963), was released and earned decent reviews. That led to a Universal contract in 1963 and roles in films including "Taggart" (1964) and "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force" (1965), for which she dyed her hair platinum blonde and kept it. She also found TV guest parts in shows like "McHale's Navy," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Wild Wild West," and "The Virginian."

The role of a spoiled movie diva in "The Oscar" (1966) gave her an unexpected career boost, leading to a sexy villainous role opposite David Wayne on TV's "Batman." She played a key role opposite James Coburn in the James Bond spoof "In Like Flint" (1967), which earned her a Fox contract for one picture a year for seven years. She then co-starred in "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), directed by Roger Corman, looking period perfect as George Segal's moll. After that, her career declined. Soon after her third child was born, she and Coleman separated, and she lost focus. Fox promoted her as a sex goddess, but she was unwilling to wear skimpy costumes, turned down roles requiring semi-nudity, and declined publicity tours in Europe for the sake of her family. She even refused a Playboy spread modeling men's pajama tops while promoting "In Like Flint." The frustrated studio released her.

She returned to the small screen in shows like "Tarzan," "Perry Mason," "Hawaii Five-O," "Mod Squad," and "Cannon." She filmed "Something Big" (1971) with Dean Martin, but all her scenes were cut from the final print. She appeared briefly in two TV movies, "Thanksgiving Day" (1990) and "Lies Before Kisses" (1991). Her marriage to Coleman was dissolved on December 4, 1984. Her three children, daughters Kelly Johns and Mary (later known as singer-songwriter Quincy Coleman) and middle son Randy Coleman, all pursued music or acting at some point. In later years, she co-founded a production company called "Coleman/Tanasesc". Jean Hale passed away on August 3, 2021, at age 82.