Born in Shoshoni, Wyoming[1] on July 19, 1907,[1] Jewell was the daughter of Emory Lee Jewell and Livia A. Willoughby Jewell.[1] Her father was "a prominent...doctor and medical researcher."[2] She was educated at St. Mary's Academy in Minnesota and at Hamilton College in Kentucky.[1]
After years in theatre stock companies, including an 87-week stint in Lincoln, Nebraska, she got a part on Broadway in Up Pops the Devil (1930).[3] She received glowing critical reviews for Blessed Event (1932) as well.[4]
By the end of the 1940s, her roles had reduced in significance to the degree that her performances often were uncredited, e.g. The Snake Pit. She performed in radio dramas in the 1950s, including This Is Your FBI.
In February 1965, she played Madame Ahr, a member of a bank-robbing circus troupe, in an episode of Gunsmoke entitled "Circus Trick."
Jewell's first marriage (which "was not generally known during Jewell's lifetime...[nor] mentioned in the press during her heyday in American films") occurred when she wed Lovell "Cowboy" Underwood when she was 19.[1] In the mid to late 1930s, Jewell was seen at nightclubs with actor William Hopper.[7] In 1936, she was engaged to actor Owen Crump,[8] marrying in 1939 and divorcing in 1941.[9][unreliable source?] In 1941, Jewell married actor Paul Marion, who was then a private in the United States Army. They separated in 1943,[1] and were divorced on May 12, 1944.[10]
Death and legacy
Jewell died in Los Angeles, California on April 5, 1972, aged 64, from suicide after taking an overdose of barbiturates.[1][11] Her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.[11]
In 1960, Jewell was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures. The star is located at 1560 Vine Street.[12][13]
^Twomey, Alfred E.; McClure, Arthur F. (1969). "Isabel Jewell". The Versatiles : Supporting Character Players in the Cinema 1930-1955 (hardcover) (First ed.). Cranbury, NJ: A. S. Barnes. p. 125. ISBN978-0-498-06792-1.
^Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
^Morning News, January 10, 1948, Who Was Who in America (Vol. 2)