Jan Shepard

{{Infobox person

| name = Jan Shepard

| image = Jan Shepard GE True Gertie the Great 1963.JPG

| alt =

| caption = Jan Shepard in 1963

| birth_name = Josephine Angela Sorbello

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|03|19}}

| birth_place = Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|01|17|1928|03|19}}

| death_place = Burbank, California, U.S.

| occupation = Actress

| years_active = 1954–2017

| children = 1

| spouse = {{marriage|Ray Boyle|1954|2022|end=died.}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/raymond-boyle-obituary?id=36218797|title=Raymond Boyle Obituary (1923-2022)|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 14, 2022|access-date=September 27, 2022}}

}}

Josephine Angela Sorbello (March 19, 1928 – January 17, 2025), known professionally as Jan Shepard, was an American actress.

Early years

Josephine Angela Sorbello{{cite news |last1=Witbeck |first1=Charles |title=Actress Aims At Movie Life |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35833988/jan_shepard/ |accessdate=September 11, 2019 |work=The Journal News |date=July 21, 1966 |location=New York, White Plains |page=36|via = Newspapers.com}} was born in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, on March 19, 1928,{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |title=Jan Shepard, Actress in 'King Creole' and a Wagonful of TV Westerns, Dies at 96 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jan-shepard-king-creole-tv-westerns-1236118906/ |access-date=27 January 2025 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=27 January 2025}} to parents of Sicilian descent, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Sorbello.{{cite news |title=Quakertown Girl Makes Good In TV, Movie Roles; Wins Part In New Series |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35833804/jan_shepard/ |accessdate=September 11, 2019 |work=News Herald |date=September 27, 1956 |location=Pennsylvania, Perkasie |page=11|via = Newspapers.com}} She was valedictorian of her class at Quakertown High School, and acted in plays produced locally.

Career

Shepard honed her acting skills at the Pasadena Playhouse. She appeared in the films Sabre Jet, as well as King Creole (1958) and Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) with Elvis Presley, thus before and after his Army induction and his mother's death."Interview with Jan Shepard, Elvis' co-star in 'King Creole' and 'Paradise, Hawaiian Style'". Retrieved June 20, 2018. https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview-with-jan-shepard.shtml She played Nurse Betty in the syndicated television series Dr. Christian{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=268|edition=2nd}} and appeared in the television series Waterfront, Bat Masterson, The Man Behind the Badge, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Private Secretary, Dr. Christian, Rawhide, Laramie, Perry Mason, Highway Patrol, Gunsmoke, Tombstone Territory, The High Chaparral and The Virginian, among others.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2YvBhX8CZ0C&q=jan%20shepard%20actress&pg=PA188 |title=Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television ... - Boyd Magers, Michael G. Fitzgerald |date= July 2004|isbn=9780786420285 |accessdate=2017-06-24|last1=Magers |first1=Boyd |last2=Fitzgerald |first2=Michael G. |publisher=McFarland }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vs1ECjGcuVEC&q=jan%20shepard%20actress&pg=PA18 |title=Ladies of the Western: Interviews with Fifty-One More Actresses from the ... - Michael G. Fitzgerald, Boyd Magers |date= February 2, 2006|isbn=9780786426560 |accessdate=2017-06-24|last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Michael G. |last2=Magers |first2=Boyd |publisher=McFarland }}

Personal life and death

In 1951, Shepard met actor Ray Boyle. They married in 1954, and remained together until Boyle's death in 2022. Shepard died from pneumonia at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, in Burbank, California, on January 17, 2025. She was 96.

Filmography

=Television=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col"\|Year !scope="col"\|Title !scope="col"\|Role !scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Notes
1959 \| Wanted Dead or Alive \| Lilith Preston \| Season 2 Episode 17 "Mental Lapse"
1964 \| Gunsmoke \| Marge \| Season 9 Episode 17 "Friend"
1965 \| ''Bonanza \| Sally \| Season 7 Episode 21 "The Code"

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

scope="col"|Year

!scope="col"|Title

!scope="col"|Role

!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes

1959

| Wanted Dead or Alive

| Lilith Preston

| Season 2 Episode 17 "Mental Lapse"

1964

| Gunsmoke

| Marge