Jean Kerr Biography

Jean Kerr	Bridget Jean Collins Born: 1922-07-10 Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania Died: 2003-01-05 Location of Death: White Plains, New York Cause of Death: Pneumonia Race: White Religion: Roman Catholic Field: Author, Playwright Famous for: Please Don't Eat The Daisies
Field: Author

Jean Kerr (July 10, 1922 [some sources cite 1923, but the Social Security Death Index gives her date of birth as 1922]—January 5, 2003) was an American author and playwright.

Born Bridget Jean Collins in Scranton, Pennsylvania, her best-known book was Please Don't Eat The Daisies (1957), a humorous look at suburban life. The book was a national bestseller, later adapted for the screen as a vehicle for Doris Day and David Niven, and subsequently made into a sitcom.

Kerr was born to parents Tom and Kitty Collins, grew up on Electric Street in Scranton, and attended Marywood Seminary, the topic of her humorous short story "When I was Queen of the May." She received a Bachelor's Degree from Marywood College in Scranton and later attended The Catholic University of America, where she received her Masters' Degree and met then-professor Walter Kerr. She later married Kerr, who went on to become a well-known New York drama critic, and they had six children—Christopher, twins Colin and John, Gilbert, Gregory, and Kitty. The Kerrs bought an old house in Larchmont, New York, which had belonged to the inventor Charles King. The Kerr family features in "With Love from Karen," written by their next-door neighor, Marie Killilea.

With her husband, Jean Kerr collaborated on Goldilocks, a short-lived musical comedy about the early days of silent film. She wrote several highly successful plays, including the Tony Award-winning King of Hearts, as well as the comedy Mary, Mary, which ran for over 1,500 performances and held the record for the longest-running non-musical play on Broadway.

She also wrote many humorous magazine essays, typically about her family. Several collections of these were later made in book form and became best-sellers.