Jean Porter

Early years

Porter is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Porter.

Career

At the age of 12, Porter arrived at Hollywood and was discovered while taking dancing lessons at the Fanchon and Marco dancing school. Beginning with a bit parts in movies such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) and One Million B.C. (1940), she eventually established herself as an actress for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941. While never a big star, she was active throughout the 1940s, appearing in almost 30 motion pictures alongside MGM stars like Esther Williams, Mickey Rooney and the comedy duo Abbott & Costello. In the 1950s, Porter appeared mainly in television series such as The Red Skelton Show, Sea Hunt, and 77 Sunset Strip. She retired from acting in 1961.

Personal life

Between 1948-1999, she was married to film director and writer Edward Dmytryk, who was one of the Hollywood Ten, the most prominent blacklisted group in the film industry during the McCarthy-era. The two married May 12, 1948, in Ellicott City, Maryland. They had three children. In 2010, Porter wrote and published a biography on jazz musician Jess Stacy.