Jeannie Carson

Stars

An English actress, Jeannie Carson appeared in several British films before moving to the United States to star in the CBS sitcom “Hey, Jeannie!” She played Jeannie MacLennan, a Scottish girl newly arrived in New York who befriends a Brooklyn cab driver and his wife. “Hey, Jeannie!” premiered in 1956 but lasted only a single season.

Carson remained in the United States, playing smaller roles in television and film, including an uncredited ad lib in “My Fair Lady.” She stared in Broadway productions of “The Sound of Music” and the 1960 revival of “Finian’s Rainbow,” in which she met American actor William “Biff” McGuire. They were married that year and costarred as King Arthur and Guinevere in the touring production of “Camelot.”

Carson and McGuire continued acting in television and on stage. They performed at the Seattle Repertory Theatre for 15 years, often together. They currently reside in Los Angeles.

When asked about the differences between English and American comedy by a Times reporter in 1958, Carson said, “There’s not any. Except we have to clean up English comedy a bit when we bring it over here.”

— Andrew Hanson for the Los Angeles Times July 6, 2010