Jane Kean

Performer
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Jane Kean

Performer

April 10, 1924

Hartford, Connecticut

November 26, 2013

Jane Kean was an actress and singer known for her work on a number of television programs, including the role of Trixie alongside Jackie Gleason in his 1960s' revival of The Honeymooners.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Kean began her career as part of a duo performing in nightclubs with her older sister Betty. She went on to appear in the theater, television and movies.

Her early television credits included roles on such programs as The Phil Slvers Show, General Hospital and Make Room for Daddy.

She first worked with Gleason in the 1940s on the vaudeville circuit. Decades later, in 1966, he hired her to play the role of Ed Norton’s wife, Trixie, when he relaunched The Honeymooners and expanded the format to an hour. In the original version of the show, the role was played by Joyce Randolph.

She also provided the voice of Belle in the animated TV movie Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, on which she worked with Jim Backus, who for a time was married to her sister. She later lent her voice to the series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo.

Her other television credits included episodes of such series as Days of Our Lives, Love, American Style, Cannon and Madman of the People.

Kean died on November 28, 2013, in Burbank, California. She was 90.

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