David Cassidy on the Web
Star of stage, movie, TV Shirley Jones performs at ISU
January 29, 2009
By Sue Loughlin
The Tribune-Star
www.tribstar.com
TERRE HAUTE - As Shirley Jones considered an opportunity to star in a 1970s television series called "The Partridge Family," people warned her.
Her agent and others told her, "If you do a series and it is successful, you will be that character for the rest of your life and your movie career will be in the toilet," Jones recalled Thursday in a telephone interview.
"They were right," she said, but she has no regrets whatsoever.
"It gave me an opportunity to stay home and raise my children [three sons], which was more important to me than anything," Jones said.
Also, playing Shirley Partridge "was not so bad. People know me from that . and it was great, great fun."
Jones, 74, an Academy award-winning actress and star of the hit television series, was in Terre Haute for a concert at Indiana State University as part of the Performing Arts Series.
She was a movie star long before she took the role of Shirley Partridge in The Partridge Family, which ran from 1970-74 and combined music and comedy. Jones played a widowed mother who, with her five children, formed a touring pop/rock group.
Jones and her five children in the show, including real-life stepson David Cassidy, became pop culture television icons; Cassidy became the hottest teen idol in the nation.
Jones said she still stays in touch with some of the Partridge Family stars, including Danny Bonaduce and Suzanne Crough. Stepson David Cassidy continues to perform live.
Before The Partridge Family, Jones starred in such movie classics as "Oklahoma," "Music Man," "Carousel" and "Elmer Gantry." She won the Best Supporting Actress Award in 1960 for her portrayal of a prostitute in "Elmer Gantry."
In recent years, she has continued to act in movies, stage and television, including a role in the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" last year.
She does many concerts, including some in which she performs with her son, Patrick. She will continue to perform "as long as I can stand up there and something comes out . and as long as I still have an audience."
She enjoys performing, "and the money helps," she said.
This is Jones' first trip to Terre Haute, and it wasn't an easy one. She arrived Tuesday evening as a winter storm began dumping 10 inches of snow in the city. It was a long, slow drive from the Indianapolis airport to Terre Haute.
While many people in Terre Haute were snowed in, Jones had a rehearsal Wednesday in Tilson Auditorium.
"It's a beautiful town . very charming. The theater is wonderful," she said. "I'm very excited."
Her performance was to include songs from her films and Broadway musicals. She also planned to talk about her career and show clips from some of her well-known movies.
Jones says she doesn't want to be remembered for any role in particular. "I want to be known as a good actress and singer . it's what I love doing." She has enjoyed all of her roles.
Two especially fulfilling roles for her were in the television movie "Silent Night, Lonely Night" with Lloyd Bridges, as well as her performance in Elmer Gantry.
"I've had a lot of wonderful roles with incredible leading men," she said. "I've had an opportunity to work with great directors."
While other actresses see their careers and popularity peak and then plummet, Jones' career just keeps on going. "It's been incredible," she said. "It's hard to say why. I think I'm able to produce. I can sing. I'm a relatively good actress."
It's a tough business, and "a lot of it is being in the right place at the right time," she said. "I think I've been very fortunate. God has been good to me."
She maintains a positive, go-with-the-flow attitude.
"I'm never discouraged. If I lose a role, I lose a role," she said. "I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid to go in and try. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. It doesn't break my heart."
She said her family has always been uppermost for her. She loves her career, but "my family always came first."
