Jean Sullivan on AllMovie

A versatile actress of stage and screen whose graceful demeanor also found her landing the position as principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater, Jean Sullivan's main passion in life may have been the theater, though her remarkable work in numerous other realms of the entertainment industry truly bear the mark of a genuinely gifted woman. Born in Logan, UT, in 1923, Sullivan was immediately hired by a Warner Bros. scout who spotted her on-stage while performing in a play during her stint at U.C.L.A. Sullivan was quickly ushered into an onscreen career with roles in Uncertain Glory (1944), Roughly Speaking (1945), and Escape in the Desert (also 1945). She would soon relocate to New York in order to delve more deeply into acting studies. It was while rehearsing the Flamenco at Carnegie Hall that Sullivan was discovered by choreographer Anthony Tudor, and after being the American Ballet Theater's principal dancer, Sullivan would appear as the lead in Agnes de Mille's Tally Ho. She was also adept at the flamenco guitar (as well as cello and piano), and she would often moonlight in the Latin nightclubs of Manhattan. Her performances as a dancer later lead to roles on the Steve Allen Show, and numerous roles on daytime television were soon to follow. Her passion for theater propelled Sullivan back to the stage in the '70s, serving as both director of New York's South Street Seaport Museum and co-artistic director and performer at the museum's Theater-on-the-Pier. A constant contributor to the stage, Sullivan would return to the screen in 1976's Squirm. In late February of 2003, Jean Sullivan died of cardiac arrest in Woodland Hills, CA. She was 79.