Nancy Kulp

American actress and educator (1921–1991)


title: "Nancy Kulp" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1921-births", "1991-deaths", "20th-century-american-actresses", "20th-century-american-lgbtq-people", "actresses-from-harrisburg,-pennsylvania", "actresses-from-miami", "actresses-from-palm-desert,-california", "american-film-actresses", "american-lesbian-actresses", "american-lesbian-comedians", "american-women-comedians", "american-lgbtq-military-personnel", "american-presbyterians", "american-television-actresses", "american-voice-actresses", "california-democrats", "comedians-from-miami", "comedians-from-pennsylvania", "comedians-from-riverside-county,-california", "deaths-from-cancer-in-california", "female-united-states-navy-officers", "florida-democrats", "florida-state-university-alumni", "lgbtq-people-from-pennsylvania", "military-personnel-from-miami", "military-personnel-from-pennsylvania", "military-personnel-from-riverside-county,-california", "pennsylvania-democrats", "united-states-navy-officers", "united-states-navy-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "university-of-miami-alumni", "waves-personnel"] description: "American actress and educator (1921–1991)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Kulp" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress and educator (1921–1991) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameNancy Kulp
imageNancy Kulp Circa 1960s.jpg
captionNancy Kulp, 1960s
birth_nameNancy Jane Kulp
birth_date
birth_placeHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
death_date
death_placePalm Desert, California, U.S.
resting_placeWestminster Presbyterian Cemetery, Mifflintown, Pennsylvania
years_active1951–1989
occupationActress, comedian, writer
partyDemocratic
spouse
alma_mater{{Plainlist
module{{Infobox military person
embedyes
embed_titleMilitary service
allegianceUnited States
branchUnited States Naval Reserve
branch_labelService
serviceyears1944–1946
rankLieutenant, junior grade
battles
battles_labelWars
awardsAmerican Campaign Medal}}
::

|name = Nancy Kulp |image = Nancy Kulp Circa 1960s.jpg |caption = Nancy Kulp, 1960s |birth_name = Nancy Jane Kulp |birth_date = |birth_place = Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Palm Desert, California, U.S. |resting_place = Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery, Mifflintown, Pennsylvania |resting_place_coordinates = |other_names = |years_active = 1951–1989 |occupation = Actress, comedian, writer |party = Democratic |spouse = |children = |alma_mater = {{Plainlist |

Nancy Jane Kulp (August 28, 1921 – February 3, 1991) was an American character actor, writer and comedian widely known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS television series The Beverly Hillbillies.

Early life

Kulp was born to Robert Tilden and Marjorie C. (née Snyder) Kulp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She was their only child. Kulp's father was a traveling salesman, and her mother was a schoolteacher and later a principal. The family moved from Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, to Miami sometime before 1935.

In 1943, Kulp graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Florida State College for Women (now Florida State University). She continued her studies for a master's degree in English and French at the University of Miami, where she was a member of the sorority Pi Beta Phi. Early in the 1940s, she also worked as a feature writer for the Miami Beach Tropics newspaper, writing profiles of celebrities such as Clark Gable and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Military service

In 1944, during World War II, Kulp left the University of Miami to join the U.S. Naval Reserve. She attained the rank of lieutenant, junior grade, and received several decorations while in the service, including the American Campaign Medal. She was honorably discharged in 1946.

Career

Film

In 1951, not long after marrying Charles Malcolm Dacus, Kulp moved to Van Nuys to work in MGM's publicity department. At the studio, director George Cukor soon convinced her that she should be an actress, so the same year she began her MGM publicity job, she also made her film debut as a character actress in The Model and the Marriage Broker. She then appeared in other films, including Shane, Sabrina, and A Star is Born. After working in television on The Bob Cummings Show and on Perry Mason in "The Case of the Deadly Toy" in 1959, Kulp returned to movies in Forever, Darling, The Three Faces of Eve, The Parent Trap, Who's Minding the Store?, and The Aristocats. In 1966, she appeared as Wilhelmina Peterson in the film The Night of the Grizzly, starring Clint Walker and Martha Hyer.

Television

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Max_Baer_Jr,_Nancy_Kulp_and_Sharon_Tate_in_The_Beverly_Hillbillies,_The_Giant_Jackrabbit_episode.jpg" caption="Kulp (center) with [[Max Baer Jr.]] and [[Sharon Tate]] in ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', 1965"] ::

In 1955, Kulp joined the cast of The Bob Cummings Show (Love That Bob) with Bob Cummings, portraying pith-helmeted neighborhood bird watcher Pamela Livingstone. In 1956, she appeared as a waitress in the episode "Johnny Bravo" of the ABC/Warner Brothers series Cheyenne, with Clint Walker. Kulp played the role of Anastasia in three episodes of the NBC sitcom It's a Great Life in 1955 and 1956. In 1958, she appeared in Orson Welles' little-known pilot episode "The Fountain of Youth" in the television series Colgate Theatre. In 1960, she appeared as Emma St. John in the episode "Kill with Kindness" of the ABC/WB detective series Bourbon Street Beat, starring Andrew Duggan.

Kulp appeared on I Love Lucy in the 1956 episode "Lucy Meets the Queen", performing as an English maid, who shows Lucy and Ethel how to curtsy properly before Queen Elizabeth. Kulp also appeared in episodes of The Real McCoys, Perry Mason ("The Case of the Prodigal Parent", 1958, and "The Case of the Deadly Toy", 1959), The Jack Benny Program ("Don's 27th Anniversary with Jack"), 87th Precinct ("Killer's Choice"), Pete and Gladys, The Twilight Zone (as Mrs. Gann in "The Fugitive"), and Outlaws ("The Dark Sunrise of Griff Kincaid, Esquire"). Kulp portrayed a slurring-drunk waitress in a scene with James Garner and Jean Willes in the 1959 Maverick episode "Full House". She played a housekeeper in a pilot for The William Bendix Show, which aired as the 1960–1961 season finale of CBS's Mister Ed under the title "Pine Lake Lodge". On the series My Three Sons in 1962, she portrayed a high school math and science teacher in two episodes under different character names, Miss Harris and Miss Fisher.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Jim_Backus_Nancy_Kulp_Beverly_Hillbillies_1963.JPG" caption="[[Guest star]] [[Jim Backus]] with Kulp in ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'' (1963)"] ::

Shortly after her performances on My Three Sons in 1962, Kulp landed her breakout role as Jane Hathaway, the love-starved, bird-watching, perennial spinster, on the CBS television series The Beverly Hillbillies. In 1967, she received an Emmy Award nomination for her role, and she remained with the show until its cancellation in 1971. In 1978, she appeared on The Love Boat in the episode "Mike and Ike / The Witness / The Kissing Bandit" and she played Aunt Gertrude in the episode "Tony and Julie / Separate Beds / America's Sweetheart". On April 7, 1989, she played a nun in the Quantum Leap season 1 episode "The Right Hand of God". Kulp also appeared on The Brian Keith Show and Sanford and Son.

Theatre

Kulp also performed in the Broadway production of Morning's at Seven in 1980 to 1981 as Aaronetta Gibbs as a replacement for Elizabeth Wilson in the Lyceum Theatre.

Politics, academia and retirement

Nancy Kulp served on the board of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) while living in California. In 1984, after working with the Democratic state committee in her home state of Pennsylvania "on a variety of projects" over a period of years, Kulp ran unopposed as the Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district. As an opponent of six-term Republican Bud Shuster in a Republican-dominated district, Kulp was a decided underdog. Sixty-two years old at the time, Kulp said some voters might feel her background as an actress was "frivolous", but she noted that Ronald Reagan had taken the route from screen to politics, and she said anyone who "listens and cares" can do well.

To her dismay, her Hillbillies co-star Buddy Ebsen, an ardent Republican, contacted the Shuster campaign and volunteered to make a radio campaign ad in which he called Kulp "too liberal". Kulp and Ebsen had a somewhat frosty relationship on set in part because of their sharp political differences. Later, Kulp said of Ebsen, "He's not the kindly old Jed Clampett that you saw on the show ... It's none of his business and he should have stayed out of it." She said Ebsen and she "didn't get along because I found him difficult to work with. But I never would have done something like this to him." Garnering 59,449 votes—just 33.6% of the ballots cast in the election—to Shuster's 117,203 votes and 66.4%, she lost. After this, according to her close friends and family, Ebsen was regarded as persona non grata to Kulp and she made it clear to people not to bring him up in conversation around her with the exception of interviews related to her time on Hillbillies. In his later years, especially after Kulp's death, Ebsen privately expressed remorse for doing the ad and they only reconciled shortly before Kulp's death.

After her defeat, she worked at Juniata College, a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, as an artist-in-residence. Later she taught acting.

Personal life

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Nancy_Kulp.jpg" caption="Kulp in Tallahassee wearing a button supporting FSU football"] ::

Kulp married Charles Malcolm Dacus, an account executive with WTVJ, on April 1, 1951, at Miami Beach Community Church. She was 29 and he was 23. According to the engagement announcement, they had already been dating for five years. Kulp and Dacus divorced in 1953.

After her retirement from acting and teaching, she moved first to a farm in Connecticut and later to Palm Springs, California, where she became involved in several charity organizations, including the Humane Society of the Desert, the Desert Theatre League, and United Cerebral Palsy.

Later, Nancy Kulp gave an interview to author and LGBT activist Boze Hadleigh, for his book "Hollywood Lesbians" in which she said, ::quote

As long as you reproduce my reply word for word, and the question, you may use it ... I'd appreciate it if you'd let me phrase the question. There is more than one way. Here's how I would ask it: "Do you think that opposites attract?" My own reply would be that I'm the other sort—I find that birds of a feather flock together. That answers your question. ::

Death

Kulp, a cigarette smoker, was diagnosed with cancer in 1990 and received chemotherapy. By 1991, the cancer had spread, and she died on February 3, 1991, aged 69, in Palm Desert, California. Her remains are interred at Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

YearTitleRoleNotes
1951The Model and the Marriage BrokerHazel GingrasUncredited
1952Steel TownDolores
The Marrying KindEdieUncredited
1953ShaneMrs. Howells
The CaddyEmmaUncredited
Here Come the GirlsWashwomanUncredited
1954SabrinaJenny, maidUncredited
A Star is BornEsther's neighbor in rooming houseUncredited
1955The ShrikeMrs. ColemanUncredited
Not as a StrangerDeirdreUncredited
You're Never Too YoungMarty's Mother
Count Three and PrayMatty Miller
1956Anything GoesA bobby soxerUncredited
Forever, DarlingAmy
1957Shoot-Out at Medicine BendCleaning WomanUncredited
God Is My PartnerMaxine Spelvana
The Three Faces of EveMrs. Black
Kiss Them for MeWAVE Telephone OperatorUncredited
1958The High Cost of LovingMiss Matthews, Cave's SecretaryUncredited cameo
1959Five Gates to HellSusette
1961The Parent TrapMiss Grunecker
The Last Time I Saw ArchieMiss WilloughbyUncredited
The Two Little BearsEmily Wilkins
1962Moon PilotSpace Flight NutritionistUncredited
1963Who's Minding the Store?Emily Rothgraber
1964The PatsyHelen, Theatergoer
1965Strange BedfellowsAggressive Woman
1966The Night of the GrizzlyWilhelmina Peterson
1970The AristocatsFrou-FrouVoice
::

Television

::data[format=table]

YearTitleRoleEpisode(s)
1954Lux Video TheatreDaisy"To Each His Own"
Topper"The Seance"
December BrideLouella"Lily Hires a Maid"
1955–1959The Bob Cummings ShowPamela Livingstone15 episodes
1955It's a Great LifeMrs. Bell"The Missing Stamp"
The Life of RileyCharlotte Lindsay"Love Comes to Waldo Binney"
Svengali and the BlondeHonorineTV movie
Schlitz Playhouse2 episodes
TopperMrs. Bandle"The Neighbors"
TV Reader's DigestRuth"Around the Horn to Matrimony"
Schlitz Playhouse"The Girl Who Scared Men Off"
The Life of RileyCharlotte Lindsay"Waldo's Mother"
It's a Great LifeGloria"The Crystal Ball"
General Electric TheaterMiss Lamb"The Seeds of Hate"
1956It's a Great LifeAnastasia"Beauty Contest"
I Love LucyMaid"Lucy Meets the Queen"
Navy Log"Web Feet"
It's a Great LifeGirl"Kid Sister"
The Jane Wyman Show"Shoot the Moon"
December BrideFlorence"Lily the Matchmaker"
CheyenneWaitress"Johnny Bravo"
The Gale Storm ShowHelga Petersen"Passenger Incognito"
Our Miss BrooksLucretia Hannibal(3 episodes)
The 20th Century Fox HourMiss Gillis"The Hefferan Family"
The Red Skelton ShowWitch"The Magic Shoes"
The Adventures of Ozzie and HarrietNancy"The Balloons"
Alfred Hitchcock PresentsNurseSeason 2 Episode 10: "Jonathan" (credited but does not appear)
1957Date with the AngelsDolly Cates(4 episodes)
The Thin ManDesk clerk, uncredited cameo"The Angel Biz"
1958The Loretta Young ShowHelen"Dear Milkman"
Perry MasonSarah Winslow"The Case of the Prodigal Parent"
Cheyenne (TV series)Waitress, uncredited"Noose at Noon"
Colgate TheatreAggie"Adventures of a Model"
Stella Morgan, credited as Nancy Culp"The Fountain of Youth
The Real McCoysHarriet Reynolds"The Dancin' Fool"
77 Sunset StripLandlady"Casualty"
1959December BrideLibrarian"The Hi-Fi Show"
The Dennis O'Keefe ShowMiss Mansfield"Teacher's Pest"
Playhouse 90Leona"A Marriage of Strangers"
Perry MasonKatherine Collins"The Case of the Deadly Toy"
MaverickWaitress, uncredited"Full House"
Sunday ShowcaseGirl at Well"The Milton Berle Special"
1960Bourbon Street BeatEmma St. John"Kill with Kindness"
The Gale Storm ShowGertrude"Captain Courageous"
The Comedy Spot"Adventures of a Model"
1961Shirley Temple's StorybookGuardian"The Little Mermaid"
Mister EdMartha"Pine Lake Lodge"
Pete and GladysMiss Hotchkiss"Gladys' Political Campaign"
The Jack Benny ProgramElocution Teacher"Don's 27th Anniversary with Jack"
1962OutlawsJennifer Veasy"The Dark Sunrise of Griff Kincaid"
Pete and GladysVickie"Office Wife"
87th PrecinctMiss Fitzhenry"Killer's Choice"
The Twilight ZoneAgnes Gann"The Fugitive"
The Danny Thomas ShowMrs. Keltner"The P.T.A. Bash"
The Joey Bishop Show"A Man's Best Friend"
My Three SonsMiss Harris"Robbie Valentino"
General Electric TheaterMiss Lamb"The Free Wheelers"
My Three SonsMiss Fisher"The Big Game"
The Jack Benny ProgramJeanette"Alexander Hamilton Show"
King of DiamondsSergeant Vadolski"Backlash"
Hawaiian EyeEdie Barnes"'V' is for Victim"
The Comedy SpotWoman"The Soft Touch"
ErnestineWomanMade-for-TV movie.
The Lucy ShowJane Corey"Lucy Becomes an Astronaut"
1962–71The Beverly HillbilliesJane Hathaway246 episodes
196377 Sunset StripEloise"The Checkmate Caper"
1966PasswordHerselfGame show contestant / Celebrity guest star
1968Petticoat JunctionJane Hathaway"A Cake from Granny"
1971Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"Ver-r-r-ry Interesting"
1973–74The Brian Keith ShowMrs. Gruber(8 episodes)
1975–76Sanford and SonMay Hopkins(5 episodes)
1978The Love BoatGert"Mike and Ike / The Witness / The Kissing Bandi"
1979CHiPsHerself, uncredited"Roller Disco: Part 2"
The Love BoatSylvia McTigue"Spider Serenade, The / Next Door Wife / Harder They Fall"
1981Aunt Gert"Tony and Julie / Separate Beds / America's Sweetheart"
Return of the Beverly HillbilliesJane Hathawayurl=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/106182%7C116010/nancy-kulp#filmographyarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115123136/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/106182%7C116010/Nancy-Kulp/#filmography
1983The Wilder SummerCamp DirectorMade-for-TV movie directed by Deborah Reinisch.
Fantasy IslandMrs. Potroy"Revenge of the Forgotten / Charo"
1986Simon & SimonShirley Graham"Still Phil After All These Years"
Scarecrow and Mrs. KingDr. Claudia Joyce"Billy's Lost Weekend"
1989Quantum LeapSister SarahEpisode: "The Right Hand of God" (S 1:Ep 4)
ABC Afterschool SpecialAurora"Private Affairs", final appearance
::

Theatre

::data[format=table]

YearTitleRoleVenueNotes
1980–81Morning's at SevenAaronetta GibbsLyceum Theatre (April 10, 1980 August 16, 1981){{Plain list
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table title="List of acting awards and nominations"]

YearAwardCategoryTitleRoleResultRef.Primetime Emmy Award
1967Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesThe Beverly HillbilliesJane Hathawayurl=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1967/outstanding-supporting-actress-in-a-comedy-seriesaccess-date=September 7, 2016publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
::

Discography

References

Sources

References

  1. "Obituary: Nancy Kulp". Continental Computer Corporation.
  2. (January 21, 2000). "Obituary: Nancy Kulp". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  3. (November 29, 2016). "Did You Know? Nancy Kulp". Harrisburg Magazine.
  4. 1930 U.S. Federal Census Record, viewed on Ancestry.com on June 7, 2010.
  5. US Federal Census Record, viewed on Ancestry.com on June 7, 2010.
  6. (February 5, 1991). "Nancy Kulp, 69, Dies; Film and TV Actress". [[The New York Times]].
  7. (January 21, 2000). "Nancy Kulp; Foil in 'Beverly Hillbillies'". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  8. "The Model and the Marriage Broker". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  9. "Shane". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  10. "Sabrina 1954". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  11. "A Star is Born 1954". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  12. "Forever, Darling". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  13. "The Three Faces of Eve". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  14. "The Parent Trap". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  15. "The Aristocats". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  16. "The Night of the Grizzly". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  17. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474685/ "Robbie Valentino" and "The Big Game"], ''My Three Sons'' (S02E21 and S02E24), episodes originally broadcast respectively on February 22 and March 15, 1962. Internet Movie Database ([[IMDb]]), an affiliate of [[Amazon.com]], Seattle Washington. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  18. (February 2, 1984). "Campaign Notes{{Snd}} Actress in Pennsylvania To Run for Congress". [[The New York Times]].
  19. (November 4, 1984). "Feudin' Hillbillies. Jed Clampett Opposes Miss Hathaway's House Bid". [[The Palm Beach Post]].
  20. (November 8, 1984). "Former 'Hillbilly' Loses". [[The New York Times]].
  21. "Nancy Kulp-Buddy Ebsen Feud - 1984".
  22. (November 29, 1985). "Kulp Goes From Miss Hathaway to Pennsylvania College Professor". [[GateHouse Media.
  23. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-marriage-of-nancy-jane/76597231 "Sets Wedding Date"]. ''The Miami Herald''. March 26, 1951.
  24. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-marriage-of-nancy-jane-ku/82330988 "C.M. Dacus, Nancy Kulp Wed Sunday"]. ''Miami Daily News''. April 2, 1951.
  25. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-marriage-of-nancy-jane/154691962 "Nancy Kulp And Charles Dacus Are Talking--About A Wedding"]. ''The Miami Herald''. February 18, 1951.
  26. Wodward, Nancy (September 8, 1953). [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/618399887 "Conversation Piece"]. ''The Miami Herald''.
  27. Associated Press Staff. (February 4, 1991). "Nancy Kulp, Who Played Secretary on 'Beverly Hillbillies,' Dies". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  28. Hadleigh, Boze. (June 2023). "Hollywood Lesbians". [[Barricade Books]].
  29. See Twilight Zone Episode "The Fugitive"
  30. "Ver-r-r-ry Interesting". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  31. "Return of the Beverly Hillbillies". [[Turner Classic Movies]].
  32. "Nancy Kulp". [[Internet Broadway Database]].
  33. "Morning's at Seven". [[Internet Broadway Database]].
  34. "19th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].

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1921-births1991-deaths20th-century-american-actresses20th-century-american-lgbtq-peopleactresses-from-harrisburg,-pennsylvaniaactresses-from-miamiactresses-from-palm-desert,-californiaamerican-film-actressesamerican-lesbian-actressesamerican-lesbian-comediansamerican-women-comediansamerican-lgbtq-military-personnelamerican-presbyteriansamerican-television-actressesamerican-voice-actressescalifornia-democratscomedians-from-miamicomedians-from-pennsylvaniacomedians-from-riverside-county,-californiadeaths-from-cancer-in-californiafemale-united-states-navy-officersflorida-democratsflorida-state-university-alumnilgbtq-people-from-pennsylvaniamilitary-personnel-from-miamimilitary-personnel-from-pennsylvaniamilitary-personnel-from-riverside-county,-californiapennsylvania-democratsunited-states-navy-officersunited-states-navy-personnel-of-world-war-iiuniversity-of-miami-alumniwaves-personnel