Shirley Jones Dresses Up Movie 'Classics'

AMC Celebrity Host Takes Hollywood Fashion On Road

Many know her as Shirley Partridge on the 1970s classic television series "The Partridge Family," but true movie fans recognize Shirley Jones as so much more.

Discovered quite literally at an audition by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Jones started her illustrious career on the Broadway stage in the duo's legendary musical "South Pacific" in 1952. Singing her way to the silver screen five years later, Jones soon went on to star in such classic movie musicals as "Oklahoma" and "Carousel."

But by earning a best supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal as Lulu Baines in "Elmer Gantry" in 1961, and starring with Robert Preston in "The Music Man" in 1962, Jones sealed her place in movie history: She earned the title of a "classic movie star."

It only made sense then, that 30 years later, she crossed paths with an upstart cable channel called American Movie Classics, a company committed to preserving Hollywood's history.

"It's been the most wonderful relationship -- I've been with them for over 10 years now," Jones told me in a recent @ The Movies interview. "I feel like I'm accomplishing something with them, because film preservation is such a big part of what they do."

As celebrity host for AMC, there's one big perk: It keeps her constantly in touch with one of her favorite pastimes -- watching classic movies.

The fact is, it is such fun for me because I'm such of a fan -- I love movies," Jones says. "When people ask me what my favorite medium is, I have to say 'movies.' It always has been and always will be. I'll stay in bed all day through Sunday and have my lunch in bed and watch old movies. They are like old paintings, fine music and fine art of any kind. That is what movies are."

As part of her relationship with AMC, Jones takes to the road to bring the magic of her career and others movies to life for people in a unique way -- through a classic Hollywood fashion show. In the show, models don the classic dresses once worn by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly, and suits from the likes of Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant.

The shows started last March, when Jones did a 12-city tour for AMC in malls all over the country. Her most recent stop comes Saturday at the Mall of Georgia in Buford, Ga., and she hopes there will be more to come.

"They have two giant screens on either side of the stage that show the movie scenes where the clothes come from," said Jones, who narrates each show with backstories of the featured films and stories from her own career. "It's also fun for me because there are two of my dresses in the show, one from "The Music Man" and the other from "Carousel." Plus, there is an array of Academy Award-winning gowns, so it's quite a sight."

Jones says these fashion shows don't include a question and answer session, but naturally, she does have contact with her fans afterward. And of course, at nearly every personal appearance she makes, someone is bound to mention "The Partridge Family," in which she starred alongside her stepson David, the son of her now late husband, Jack Cassidy.

"I have to face it, I did over 30 films before I did 'The Partridge Family,' but nobody knew my name until after I was on the show for five years," Jones says, laughing. "I didn't understand the power of television at that point, because when you were a movie star at that time, it was a step down to do television.

"I remember the agents and the powers that be telling me, 'Are you crazy? You want to do a television series? You're a movie actress.' I said, 'Yeah, but I love the script and I want to stay at home. I've been traveling all over the world on movie locations, and I have three small sons.' It was a marvelous opportunity for me to spend time at home and be with my kids."

Plus, it gave her the opportunity to work with David. If that weren't enough, "The Partridge Family" was about music: Having starred in many classic Hollywood musicals, the opportunity couldn't have been any better.

"It all seemed to fall into place," Jones says. "The fact that it had music was the cherry on the top of the cake. I knew that it had a really good chance of becoming a hit show because of that."

"(Come On) Get Happy," of course, was one of the Partridge songs on the show, and getting "happy" is what Jones was.

"I was very happy about the whole five years -- it was great for me," Jones says.

And what about the questioning of career move from the agents and the powers that be?

"They were right," Jones laughs. "It did kill my movie career. People know me more by Mrs. Partridge than anything else, especially the adults of today -- they grew up with the show."

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