Jorja Curtright

Jorja Curtright (August 14, 1923 – May 11, 1985) was an American actress who worked in stage, film, and television, and who later pursued a career as an interior designer. Born in Amarillo, Texas, she built a career that spanned several decades before transitioning to work outside the entertainment industry.

Curtright made her film debut in Hitler's Madman (1943), a wartime propaganda picture in which she portrayed Clara Janek, a young woman who jumps from a hospital window to avoid Nazi sterilization. Her subsequent film appearances included Whistle Stop (1946), Heaven Only Knows (1947), and M (1951). She continued working in film throughout the 1950s, with credits that included Dangerous Assignment (1951), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956), and the television series Gunsmoke (1956). Her television work extended into the 1960s, with appearances on Bonanza (1966) and I Dream of Jeannie (1966).

On Broadway, Curtright appeared in 1950 in the drama A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1952, she married novelist and producer Sidney Sheldon, with whom she had a daughter named Mary. The couple maintained a close friendship with Groucho Marx, who held her acting abilities in high regard. In addition to her design work, Curtright edited her husband's novels.

In later life, Curtright became an interior designer, decorating more than 200 homes for friends and celebrities across the United States. She died on May 11, 1985, from a heart attack at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 61.