Jean Wallace


Jean Wallace was an American television and film actress.

Early years

Wallace was born in Chicago to John T. Walaszek and Mary A. Walaszek. Her grandfather Karol Walaszek, immigrated from Galicia. She was Polish-American.
Wallace was a graduate of Austin High School in Chicago. In 1940, the family moved to Hollywood.

Career

Wallace began her career as a model. She made her screen debut when she was 17. Her first film, in which she had a bit part, was Louisiana Purchase.
By the time she was 18, she had worked as a dancer and singer, including being a showgirl employed by Earl Carroll.

Personal life

Wallace married her Jigsaw co-star Franchot Tone on October 18, 1941, in Yuma, Arizona. They divorced in 1948. They had two sons, Pascal "Pat" Franchot Tone born July 29, 1943 and Thomas Jefferson Tone born September 16, 1945. Tone was awarded custody of their sons after their divorce.
Wallace attempted suicide in 1946 with sleeping pills, and in 1949 with a self-inflicted knife wound.
In 1950, she had a marriage and annulment to former US Army Captain Jim Lloyd Randall.
Wallace's third marriage was to actor Cornel Wilde, who was her co-star in The Big Combo, Lancelot and Guinevere and Beach Red, from 1951 to 1981. She and Wilde had one son, Cornel Wallace Wilde, born on December 19, 1967.
A Democrat, she supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.

Death

Wallace died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on February 14, 1990. She is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography