Jessie Jones is survived by her sisters, a brother-in-law, her niece and nephews, as well as her longtime collaborator, Wooten.
Jessie Jones, a television actress who later became one of America’s most-produced female playwrights, has passed away at the age of 75.
Her longtime friend and collaborator, Jamie Wooten, confirmed that Jones died on March 20 in Washington, D.C., following a prolonged illness.
She is survived by her sisters, a brother-in-law, a niece and nephews, as well as her close collaborator Wooten.
Television Career:
Jones built a successful acting career throughout the 1980s and ’90s, appearing in popular sitcoms such as Night Court, Newhart, Designing Women, Murphy Brown (as Betty Hooley), Who’s the Boss, Perfect Strangers, Grace Under Fire, and Melrose Place.
TV Movies:
She also starred in several TV movies, including The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Baby Jessica alongside Patty Duke and Beau Bridges, and the frequently aired Wife, Mother, Murderer.
Playwriting Career:
As her acting career slowed, Jones turned to writing. She co-created the Off-Broadway Southern funeral comedy Dearly Departed, which became widely performed by theater companies across the country.
She later co-wrote the screenplay for Fox Searchlight’s Kingdom Come, starring Whoopi Goldberg and LL Cool J.
Her lasting legacy is tied to the Jones Hope Wooten collaboration with Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten.
Together, the trio wrote over two dozen Southern-inspired comedies, including The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, The Red Velvet Cake War, Christmas Belles, and The Savannah Sipping Society.
Published by Concord Theatricals, their works have been widely staged and translated into several languages.
Wooten hailed Jones as “the most-produced female American playwright.”
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