(From Old Corral collection) | Jean Carmen / Julia Thayer Real name: Jean Carmean, which was shortened to Jean Carmen. Her screen name became "Julia Thayer" while at Republic Pictures in 1937. 1913 - 1993 Left - Jean Carmen - billed as 'Julia Thayer' - as the rider of the paint horse in THE PAINTED STALLION (Republic, 1937) chapterplay. |
(Courtesy of Andy Southard) Above - a publicity still of the blonde-tressed Jean, probably circa 1934 at the time of her selection as a WAMPAS Baby Star. (Courtesy of Bill Sasser) Jean Carmen at the 1987 Charlotte, North Carolina Film Fest. She also attended the 1983 and 1989 Charlotte Festivals. |
"In her Indian buckskins and chief's feathered headdress, she was a beauty."
Bigger film roles were not in the cards for Carmen/Thayer. After THE PAINTED STALLION, she free-lanced, doing bit and minor supporting parts - an example is Jean as one of the three "singing sisters" in the Three Stooges western themed short, YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA (Columbia, 1939). She was unbilled in this two-reeler which starred Moe, Larry and Curly vs. baddies Dick Curtis and Lynton Brent.
With few movie jobs being offered, Jean did stage work ... and began writing plays:
There were two marriages. Her first was in 1932 to insurance broker Walter Lohman who was twenty or more years older than Jean. Newspapers and the August 14, 1932 marriage license indicate their wedding ceremony was at the beach home of silent screen actress Constance Talmadge Netcher in Santa Monica, California. They divorced in 1937. June 8, 1938 and July 20, 1938 issues of Variety had news about Jean going to court and charging Lohman with deception in their property settlement. Found nothing further on their legal battles.
Circa 1949, she married Barrett Collyer Dillow who was about ten years younger than she. Born in Illinois circa 1922, Dillow attended East High School in Aurora, Illinois and received a marketing degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He was an Army Captain during World War II and worked in advertising after the war.
The Dillows settled in Greenwich, Connecticut. There's a dozen or so 1950s - early 1960s Greenwich City Directories on ancestry.com with Barrett C. and Jean Dillow, and his occupation was "Adv - NY" (meaning advertising in New York).
Dillow moved up the ranks at several major advertising agencies. Highlights: in 1952, he's with McCann-Erickson, New York, as account executive responsible for Congoleum-Nairn Inc.; in 1959, he's at the Warwick and Legler agency as an account executive on the Mennen account; in 1965, he was elected Vice President of Grey Advertising, New York; in 1966, Dillow was appointed account supervisor on Max Factor products for Carson/Roberts Inc., Los Angeles.
Unsure when Barrett and Jean split, but probably circa 1959-1960, and there's records indicating he married two more times and re-located to California due to a job change.
Son Guy H. Dillow, nicknamed "Buz", or "Buzzie" was born in 1951 and died in 1985. Guy was featured in Jean's movie "The Pawn", an early 1960s film which was shot in the U.S. and Italy. There's links below to many trips to England and France by Jean (and sometimes, son Guy was included).
Soon after Guy's 1985 death, Jean sold the Greenwich, Connecticut home and re-located to Charleston, South Carolina.
Jean guested at the 1983, 1987 and 1989 Charlotte, North Carolina Film Festivals.
80 year old Jean Carmen Dillow passed away on August 26, 1993 in Charleston, South Carolina.
In 2015, Frank Reighter and the Three Stooges research team connected with Jean's relatives. Jean had broken her leg but it had not set properly. She had surgery and passed away on August 26, 1993 at the hospital from heart failure. Jean was cremated in Charleston, South Carolina, and her cremains were spread in the Atlantic ocean. Executors of Jean's will were Carmean relatives and the majority of her art collection and movie memorabilia was retained by the family. Included was her original makeup kit for THE PAINTED STALLION serial. On November 6, 1993, Roumillat's Auctioneers in Charleston, South Carolina conducted an auction of Jean's property (link further down this webpage for that auction ad).
(From Old Corral collection) Above - Ray Corrigan and Julia Thayer / Jean Carmen smile for the camera during the 1937 filming of Republic's THE PAINTED STALLION cliffhanger. (Courtesy of Bruce Hickey) Ray Corrigan and Julia Thayer / Jean Carmen in a lobby card from THE PAINTED STALLION (Republic, 1937). |
Links
|
Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Julia Thayer / Jean Carmen: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0138383/
YouTube has a video of Jean and the 1934 WAMPAS winners. Note that the opening title of this five minute short has "Nat Levine Presents" which indicates it was produced by Levine's Mascot company: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6ftjI3PPqI Thayer/Carmen also did some plays, and the Internet Broadway Database (IBDb) has her listed as a replacement in the role of "June Stanley" in the Monty Woolley comedy "The Man That Came To Dinner", circa 1939-41 in New York City: https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jean-carmen-111095 Photo of Monty Woolley and Jean Carmen in the New York stage production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at the Music Box Theatre: https://collections.mcny.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=24UAYW212K_1&SMLS=1&RW=1450&RH=892&VP3=SearchResult&VBID=24UAYW212K_1&SMLS=1&RW=1450&RH=892 Playbill from January 26, 1941 with Jean as "June Stanley" in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at the Music Box Theatre: http://www.performingartsarchive.com/Broadway/Broadway-M/Man-Who-Came-To-Dinner_1941/Man-Who-Came-To-Dinner_1941.htm Jacqueline T. Lynch has a blog on theater in New England. The "Last House on the Left" was a comedy written by Irish Owen and Jean Carmen and in 1945, there was a pre-Broadway tryout in Hartford, Connecticut. There's a handbill listing Carmen and Owen as the authors ... and Jean Carmen and Gene Barry (TV's BAT MASTERSON) as the stars. The play wasn't successful and never made it to Broadway: http://tragedyandcomedyinnewengland.blogspot.com/2009/12/out-of-town-tryouts-last-house-on-left.html The Google newspaper archive has articles on the filming of THE PAWN (original title: TEARS ARE FOR TOMORROW):
The AFI Catalog of Feature Films has more on Jean's "The Pawn" film which was released in 1968. AFI includes the following notes: "Production begun in Dec 1961; location scenes filmed in Ipswich and Boston, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; upstate New York; and Amalfi, Italy. The working title of this film is Tears Are for Tomorrow.": https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20989-THE-PAWN?sid=1c5642ac-2a03-4d22-ac4a-c6338d48647c&sr=7.0361514&cp=1&pos=0
Appears that Jean (and her husband) were wealthy. Real estate info shows their second home in Greenwich, Connecticut was at 353 North Street in the Gold Coast area. There were 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, 4500 square feet, and the home was purchased in 1959 and sold in 1986. Scroll down to the bottom of this real estate listing and Jean was the sole owner of the property: https://blockshopper.com/ct/greenwich/greenwich/property/11-1746/353-north-street May, 1942 article in the Daily Illini newspaper about University of Illinois military/ROTC cadets and it includes Barrett Collyer Dillow. In the column on the left with a headline of "Army Presents Maneuvers Today": https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=DIL19420515.2.2&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN---------- |
On the trail of Jean Carmean / Jean Carmen / Julia Thayer.
|
There are some traces of Jean and the Carmean family at Family Search (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), and other sources:
|
Screen capture of Jean Carmen - billed as 'Julia Thayer' - as the rider of the paint horse in THE PAINTED STALLION (Republic, 1937) cliffhanger. Jack Mathis' book Valley of the Cliffhangers (Jack Mathis Advertising, 1975) had more about this horse: "Played by a pinto named Minister, the painted stallion was insured for $1500 and brought owner Frank Yrigoyen $175 for its appearance, and the horse's trainer Leo Dupee also functioned as a utility player in the picture." (From Old Corral collection) Above - Julian Rivero is the Spanish-garbed gent on the far left. William Desmond and Earl Dwire are in the darkened doorway. Blackie Whiteford is restraining hero Tom Tyler, and burly Dick Alexander has the butt of his six-shooter aimed at Tom's head. Prone on the step is Hank Bell, minus his usual moustache. The heroine is Jean Carmen, and this was her first western. From Tyler's BORN TO BATTLE (Reliable, 1935). (Courtesy of Minard Coons) Back row from left to right are Max Terhune, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, the gagged baddie is Robert Walker, and Bob Livingston is on the far right. Jean Carmen (billed as Julia Thayer) and young Sammy McKim look on in this still from GUNSMOKE RANCH (Republic, 1937), one of the Three Mesquiteers adventures. Jerry Murbach's Doctor Macro website has a great closeup of Jean and Ray Corrigan from GUNSMOKE RANCH: http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Corrigan,%20Ray%20'Crash'/Annex/Annex%20-%20Corrigan,%20Ray%20'Crash'%20(Gunsmoke%20Ranch)_01.jpg (From Old Corral collection) Above - Jean has won negotiations on who does the clothes washin' in this scene with melodious Fred Scott from IN OLD MONTANA (Spectrum, 1939). (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Jean Carmen, James Newill, Milburn Stone, and Roy Barcroft in a scene from CRASHING THROUGH (Monogram, 1939), one of the Renfrew of the Royal Mounted adventures. On the stairs, and about to deliver a crushin' blow to Newill's noggin, is Iron Eyes Cody. In later life, Milburn Stone became 'Doc' on TV's long running GUNSMOKE. (Courtesy of the Robert Webb Family) A pause in the action on the Bob Steele western SMOKY TRAILS (Metropolitan, 1939). Above are: 1. James Aubrey 2. producer/director Harry S. Webb 3. Eddie Saeta 4. Bob Steele 5. producer/director Bernard B. Ray (he directed SMOKY TRAILS) 6. Rose Gordon, wife of Harry S. Webb 7. Gordon Webb (first son of Harry and Rose) 8. Sammy Gordon. The leading lady (center) is Jean Carmen and Bruce Dane is the tall cowboy on the right. |