‘Murphy Brown’ & ‘Melrose Place’ Actress Jessie Jones Passes Away at 75
The woman who could make audiences laugh with a few lines on television went on to leave an even bigger mark on the American stage.
Jessie Jones, the actress and acclaimed playwright whose television credits included Murphy Brown, Melrose Place, Night Court, Newhart, Designing Women and Perfect Strangers, has died at 75.
Jones passed away in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2026, following a long illness.
Born in the Texas Panhandle, Jones discovered her love of performance early and eventually studied at the University of Texas at Austin.
After working in theater and moving into television, she became a familiar face to viewers during the 1980s and ’90s, often turning brief guest appearances into memorable moments.
But television was only one chapter of her story.
Together with Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, Jones became part of the celebrated Jones Hope Wooten playwriting team.
Their Southern-set comedies—including Dearly Departed, The Red Velvet Cake War, The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, Christmas Belles and The Savannah Sipping Society—became staples of regional and community theaters across the United States and beyond.
Dearly Departed was later adapted into the 2001 film Kingdom Come, and Jones also co-wrote its screenplay.
Her plays were reportedly performed more than 100,000 times worldwide, with longtime collaborator Wooten describing her as the most-produced female American playwright.
Jessie Jones may have first entered living rooms through television, but her greatest legacy was ultimately much larger: she created stories that kept bringing people together, laughing, and returning to the theater.
The curtain has fallen—but the laughter she helped create is still being heard.
