Murphy Brown & Melrose Place Actress Jessie Jones Dies at 75

Jessie Jones, a playwright and veteran character TV actor who appeared in the likes of Murphy Brown, Perfect Strangers, and Melrose Place, has died. She was 75.

Jones’ writing partner Jamie Wooten confirmed the passing, telling Deadline that the actress died on Friday, March 20, in Washington, D.C., after a long illness.

Born on August 21, 1950, in the panhandle of Texas, Jones graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. According to her obituary, Jones’ college days were “filled with theatre and design.” She also worked for President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson at their Austin television station.

Her move into acting came after meeting Nicholas Hope, who asked her to be the lead in his play, A Friend of the Family. From there, Jones embarked on a successful TV and theater career, with her first television roles coming in 1989 episodes of Hooperman and Newhart.

Jones other credits include popular shows such as Night Court, Designing Women, Grace Under Fire, Judging Amy, Cold Case, Who’s the Boss? and a memorable appearance on the season 3 premiere of Murphy Brown in September 1990.

She also landed a series-regular role on the short-lived WB sitcom You’re the One and starred in multiple episodes of the Saturday morning ABC comedyFudge.

After stepping away from acting in 2005, Jones launched a successful career writing plays, including the Southern-funeral comedyDearly Departed,which premiered off-Broadway before touring the country. She also co-wrote the screenplay for the Fox Searchlight adaptation of the play, Kingdom Come, which starred Whoopi Goldberg and LL Cool J.

Alongside Hope and Wooten, Jones would go on to write several more Southern-based comedy productions, including The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, The Red Velvet Cake War, Christmas Belles, The Savannah Sipping Society, and many, many more.

“Jessie lit up every room she ever walked into, where her sparkling conversational skills were put on dazzling display,” her obit reads. “This incredibly gregarious and talented lady showed us all how to live a life fully, passionately and purposefully. Jessie’s final word was ‘beautiful’. And that couldn’t have been more apt – not only was Jessie beautiful inside and out, but ‘beautiful’ is how her time on this planet turned out to be.”

Jones is survived by her sisters, Ellen and Laura, her brother-in-law, Jim McCarthy, her niece, Margaret McCarthy, and her nephews, Tommy McCarthy, Todd Hyso, and Paul Hyso, as well as her grand-nieces and cousins.