Jean Kerr, 80, "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" Author - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TJ · 01-07-2003, 05:57 PM

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jean Kerr, a playwright and author who wrote with
self-deprecating humor about show business and suburbia and had a
best-seller in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," has died at age 80.

Kerr died Sunday in White Plains. The apparent cause was pneumonia,
her son said.

Kerr wrote entertainingly about show business. She mused about what to
say when having lunch with a prospective producer -- order a drink so
you look relaxed, but don't touch it lest he think you're an
alcoholic. Anticipating negative reviews of her latest work, she
wrote: "If I have to commit suicide, I have nothing but Gelusil."
(That's an antacid.)

But she also had a gift for finding humor in the common anxieties of
suburbia and married life. She cheerfully acknowledged doing most of
her writing in the family car, parked several blocks away from the
chaos of several children and pets.

Kerr collaborated with her husband, the late drama critic Walter Kerr,
on several Broadway plays and wrote others on her own.

Her 1961 comedy, "Mary, Mary," about a divorced couple who ultimately
reconcile, became one of the longest-running productions of the
decade. It had more than 1,500 Broadway performances.

Butt Kerr is probably best known for "Please Don't Eat the Daisies,"
an eclectic compilation of her writings about everything from her pet
dogs to the oddities of their house in Larchmont.

The book, published in 1957, was turned into a movie with Doris Day
three years later and became a situation comedy that ran on NBC form
1965 to 1967.

She also wrote "The Snake Has All the Lines" (1960), "Penny Candy"
(1970) and "How I Got to Be Perfect" (1978).

She and her husband made their Broadway writing debut in 1946 with
"Song of Bernadette," a dramatization of the novel about a young
Frenchwoman canonized after allegedly seeing visions of the Virgin
Mary.

It was not a success, nor was her solo writing effort two years later,
a comedy called "Jenny Kissed Me," about a priest who finds his
household disrupted by the arrival of his housekeeper's niece.

But the couple's 1949 revue "Tough and Go" was praised by critics. The
show included a sketch of "Hamlet" performed as a musical comedy.

Her husband died in 1996 at 83.

BundyBoy10 · 07-10-2003, 09:22 AM

Ah, I didnt know!! VERY SAD

01-07-2003, 05:57 PM	#1
TJ Site Owner Administrator Forum Star Join Date: Feb 03, 2000 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 10,656	Jean Kerr, 80, "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" Author NEW YORK (AP) -- Jean Kerr, a playwright and author who wrote with self-deprecating humor about show business and suburbia and had a best-seller in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," has died at age 80. Kerr died Sunday in White Plains. The apparent cause was pneumonia, her son said. Kerr wrote entertainingly about show business. She mused about what to say when having lunch with a prospective producer -- order a drink so you look relaxed, but don't touch it lest he think you're an alcoholic. Anticipating negative reviews of her latest work, she wrote: "If I have to commit suicide, I have nothing but Gelusil." (That's an antacid.) But she also had a gift for finding humor in the common anxieties of suburbia and married life. She cheerfully acknowledged doing most of her writing in the family car, parked several blocks away from the chaos of several children and pets. Kerr collaborated with her husband, the late drama critic Walter Kerr, on several Broadway plays and wrote others on her own. Her 1961 comedy, "Mary, Mary," about a divorced couple who ultimately reconcile, became one of the longest-running productions of the decade. It had more than 1,500 Broadway performances. Butt Kerr is probably best known for "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," an eclectic compilation of her writings about everything from her pet dogs to the oddities of their house in Larchmont. The book, published in 1957, was turned into a movie with Doris Day three years later and became a situation comedy that ran on NBC form 1965 to 1967. She also wrote "The Snake Has All the Lines" (1960), "Penny Candy" (1970) and "How I Got to Be Perfect" (1978). She and her husband made their Broadway writing debut in 1946 with "Song of Bernadette," a dramatization of the novel about a young Frenchwoman canonized after allegedly seeing visions of the Virgin Mary. It was not a success, nor was her solo writing effort two years later, a comedy called "Jenny Kissed Me," about a priest who finds his household disrupted by the arrival of his housekeeper's niece. But the couple's 1949 revue "Tough and Go" was praised by critics. The show included a sketch of "Hamlet" performed as a musical comedy. Her husband died in 1996 at 83.

07-10-2003, 09:22 AM	#2
BundyBoy10 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 24, 2002 Posts: 311	Ah, I didnt know!! VERY SAD