Mary Jackson Tribute

MARY JACKSON

NOVEMBER 22, 1910-DECEMBER 10, 2005

Alice Horton, Unaired Pilot, 1965

Mary Jackson, who portrayed Alice Horton in the unaired pilot episode of "Days of Our Lives" in July 1965 has died. When the pilot was purchased by NBC to become a series in November, 1965, Jackson was replaced in the role by Frances Reid. Ms. Jackson died on Saturday, December 10, 2005 at her home in Hollywood, California of complications from Parkinson's disease. She was 95. Jackson was born in Milford, Michigan on November 22, 1910. She graduated from Milford, Michigan High School in 1927 and attended Western Michigan University, where she studied drama and literature and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1933. She taught briefly before deciding to leave the area and pursue her first love, theater. Ms. Jackson worked in summer stock and on Broadway as well as in stage productions in Chicago and Los Angeles before her TV and movie career began in the early 1950s.

She appeared in stage productions of "Kiss and Tell" from 1943 to 1945, "Eastward in Eden" in 1947 and "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine" in 1970. She also worked on the West Coast with such notable actors as Shirley Booth in "Desk Set" in 1956 and Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in "Juno and the Peacock" in 1973.

Jackson's most famous acting role was on the CBS drama "The Waltons." Her character, Emily Baldwin, was one of two sisters who lived together and made bootleg whiskey they referred to as, "the recipe." Whenever visitors stopped by, the sisters would invite them to sample the latest batch while they anxiously awaited their reaction.

Ms. Jackson's career spanned several decades. She made many guest appearances in TV shows from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" in the early 1950s to "Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law" in the late '80s. She played Jane Fonda's mother in 1977's "Fun with Dick and Jane," a nun in the first "Airport" movie and dozens of other character roles. She lived in Hollywood for more than 40 years and was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Though she suffered from Parkinson's disease in her later years, Ms. Jackson continued to work regularly on film projects until a stroke in 1997 made speech more difficult. She is survived by a goddaughter and a godson. She will be buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Milford, Michigan. Donations may be made to The Actors Fund of America, 729 7th Ave., 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019.





				MARY JACKSON NOVEMBER 22, 1910-DECEMBER 10, 2005 Alice Horton, Unaired Pilot, 1965

		Mary Jackson, who portrayed Alice Horton in the unaired pilot episode of "Days of Our Lives" in July 1965 has died. When the pilot was purchased by NBC to become a series in November, 1965, Jackson was replaced in the role by Frances Reid. Ms. Jackson died on Saturday, December 10, 2005 at her home in Hollywood, California of complications from Parkinson's disease. She was 95. Jackson was born in Milford, Michigan on November 22, 1910. She graduated from Milford, Michigan High School in 1927 and attended Western Michigan University, where she studied drama and literature and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1933. She taught briefly before deciding to leave the area and pursue her first love, theater. Ms. Jackson worked in summer stock and on Broadway as well as in stage productions in Chicago and Los Angeles before her TV and movie career began in the early 1950s. She appeared in stage productions of "Kiss and Tell" from 1943 to 1945, "Eastward in Eden" in 1947 and "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine" in 1970. She also worked on the West Coast with such notable actors as Shirley Booth in "Desk Set" in 1956 and Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in "Juno and the Peacock" in 1973. Jackson's most famous acting role was on the CBS drama "The Waltons." Her character, Emily Baldwin, was one of two sisters who lived together and made bootleg whiskey they referred to as, "the recipe." Whenever visitors stopped by, the sisters would invite them to sample the latest batch while they anxiously awaited their reaction. Ms. Jackson's career spanned several decades. She made many guest appearances in TV shows from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" in the early 1950s to "Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law" in the late '80s. She played Jane Fonda's mother in 1977's "Fun with Dick and Jane," a nun in the first "Airport" movie and dozens of other character roles. She lived in Hollywood for more than 40 years and was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Though she suffered from Parkinson's disease in her later years, Ms. Jackson continued to work regularly on film projects until a stroke in 1997 made speech more difficult. She is survived by a goddaughter and a godson. She will be buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Milford, Michigan. Donations may be made to The Actors Fund of America, 729 7th Ave., 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019.