Jayne Meadows, a longtime stage and screen actress, and widow of the late TV comedian Steve Allen, passed away on April 26, 2015 of natural causes at her home in Encino, Calif. She was 95.

For six decades, Meadows thrived in the entertainment industry as a stage and screen actress. Between 1958 and 1959, she played Nell in Alec and Myra Coppel's Broadway play "The Gazebo," and came to popularity on television when she became a regular panelist on CBC's "I've Got a Secret," a game show where the panel tries to guess a contestant's secret.

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In 1953, Meadows guest-starred in an episode of "Suspense" titled, "F.O.B. Vienna," as reporter Helen Brady, opposite Walter Matthau. She was also remembered in long-running shows such as "Hawaii Five-O," "Adam-12," "The Love Boat, "Fantasy Island," and PBS' "Meeting Of Minds."

Meadows was nominated three times for Emmys: the first time for her role in the "Meeting of Minds" in 1977; the second time when she guested for an episode of NBC's "St. Elsewhere," in 1987; and the third time in 1996 for her supporting role in a CBS comedy show "High Society."

In the silver screen, Meadows' famous Hollywood movies include "Undercurrent," which she starred in with Katharine Hepburn, "Song of the Thin Man" with William Powell and Myrna Loy, "David and Bathsheba," with Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward and Raymond Massey, "Lady in the Lake," with Robert Montgomery and Audrey Totter, and "Enchantment," with David Niven and Teresa Wright.

In 1954, Meadows married Steve Allen, the first host of "The Tonight Show" and they were together for 46 years until his death in 2000 from a massive heart attack. He was a Democrat while Meadows was a Republican.

Their son, Bill Allen, the president and CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and a former showbiz executive, issued a statement, which described Meadows not only an extraordinarily gifted actress, but was the greatest storyteller he has ever known. He also said that Meadows was the most loving mother and grandmother he could ever imagine, who saw only the best in all her family members and gave them confidence that they had value to offer the world.

TagsJayne Meadows, Broadway, TV, Actress