Jayne Meadows dead at 95

Jayne Meadows (September 27, 1919 – April 26, 2015), also known as Jayne Meadows-Allen, was an American stage, film and television actress, as well as an author and lecturer. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards during her career and was the elder sister of actress Audrey Meadows.

Jayne Meadows Allen, a versatile early television actress who was nominated for three Emmy Awards and perhaps best known as a panelist on “I’ve Got a Secret,” died Sunday at her home in Encino, Calif. She was 95.

Her family said she died peacefully, of natural causes.

Meadows was also known as the wife and sometimes performance partner of TV host Steve Allen. They were married from 1954 until his death in 2000.

She was also predeceased by her younger sister, Audrey Meadows, who played Alice Kramden on “The Honeymooners,” and she is survived by her son Bill.

Bill Allen issued a statement saying, “She was not only an extraordinarily gifted actress who could move audiences from laughter to tears and back again all in one scene, but she was the greatest storyteller I have ever known and I will miss her endlessly fascinating and frequently hilarious anecdotes about her life and the many brilliantly talented people she worked with and befriended along the way.

“She was also the most loving mother and grandmother I could ever imagine, seeing only the best in all her family members and giving us all confidence that we had value to offer the world and should take risks because we could do no wrong in her eyes. She will be sorely missed and never forgotten.”