Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 â€" August 24, 1999) was an
American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love
Lucy, Ms. Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of Our
Miss Brooks, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, and
Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.Described as "a
stage-struck 17-year-old just out of high school", she started her
career on the stage of the Muncie Civic Theatre. She quickly joined
the Guild Theatre company, a new theatrical stock company in
Cincinnati, Ohio. From that, she went to radio station WLW. Croft said
of her work at WLW, "from 1935 to 1939, I played parts with every kind
of voice and accent: children, babies, old women, society belles, main
street floozies â€" everything."Croft's initial appearance on radio
was in Sherlock Holmes. She worked extensively as an actress in radio,
appearing on such programs as Life with Luigi, Blondie, The Adventures
of Sam Spade, Suspense, The Beulah Show, The Bill Goodwin Show,
Broadway Is My Beat, On Stage, Crime Classics, Four-Star Playhouse,
The Harold Peary Show, Joan Davis Time, The Mel Blanc Show, One Man's
Family, Our Miss Brooks and Sears Radio Theater. She also appeared in
frequent guest star roles on Lucille Ball's My Favorite Husband, the
beginning of their later professional and personal relationship.
American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love
Lucy, Ms. Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of Our
Miss Brooks, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, and
Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.Described as "a
stage-struck 17-year-old just out of high school", she started her
career on the stage of the Muncie Civic Theatre. She quickly joined
the Guild Theatre company, a new theatrical stock company in
Cincinnati, Ohio. From that, she went to radio station WLW. Croft said
of her work at WLW, "from 1935 to 1939, I played parts with every kind
of voice and accent: children, babies, old women, society belles, main
street floozies â€" everything."Croft's initial appearance on radio
was in Sherlock Holmes. She worked extensively as an actress in radio,
appearing on such programs as Life with Luigi, Blondie, The Adventures
of Sam Spade, Suspense, The Beulah Show, The Bill Goodwin Show,
Broadway Is My Beat, On Stage, Crime Classics, Four-Star Playhouse,
The Harold Peary Show, Joan Davis Time, The Mel Blanc Show, One Man's
Family, Our Miss Brooks and Sears Radio Theater. She also appeared in
frequent guest star roles on Lucille Ball's My Favorite Husband, the
beginning of their later professional and personal relationship.
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