American television and film actress, who began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party (1957) and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses of 1959. Her film career continued for another 20 years. From 1964 to 1966, she played the role of Morticia Addams (as well as her sister Ophelia and the feminine counterpart of Thing, Lady Fingers), in the original black and white television series The Addams Family.
She was the daughter of Cloe Jeanette Southern, a housewife, and Julius Alfred Jones, a barber. In 1934 her father abandoned the family and her mother moved with her two children to her parents’ home in Amarillo. Carolyn suffered from severe asthma that often restricted her from childhood activities. She was an avid reader, and loved Hollywood magazines. When her condition permitted she loved to go to the movies. After her graduation, her grandfather agreed to pay her tuition to the Pasadena Playhouse. Therefore, she moved to California in 1947 to pursue her acting career.
Jones secured a contract with Paramount Pictures and made her first film in 1952. In 1953, she married aspiring film-maker Aaron Spelling.
In 1964, with a long coal black wig, Jones began playing Morticia Addams in the television series The Addams Family, a role which brought her success as a comedienne and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Her acting career declined after The Addams Family ended in 1966.
Jones was diagnosed with colon cancer in March 1981. She died on 13 August 1983.
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