Jean Kerr Books In Order

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Plays

Jean Kerr was an American author and playwright. She is known for her bestseller Please Don’t Eat the Daisies as well as her plays ‘King of Hearts’ and ‘Mary, Mary’.

Jean was born on July 10, 1922 as Bridget Jean Collins in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Irish immigrants Tom and Kitty Collins. Jean grew up on Electric Street, went to Marywood Seminary, and graduated from Marywood College in Scranton with her bachelor’s degree. From there, she went to The Catholic University of America and received her master’s degree there in 1945.

Jean worked on a 1946 adaptation of the novel The Song of Bernadette and contributed sketches and lyrics to the musical Touch and Go. She co-authored Goldilocks, a 1958 Broadway musical comedy that was about silent film’s early days and won two Tony Awards.

Jean would work on the King of Hearts, which ran for nearly 300 performances and won Tony Awards. She would co-write a play and King of Hearts would be made into a movie starring Bob Hope called That Certain Feeling, which hit the screen in 1956.

Jean would go on to write Jenny Kissed Me, which was produced in 1948. She followed that up with the hit Mary, Mary, which ran for three years on Broadway from 1961-1964. It was also adapted to the screen as a 1963 movie with the same title that starred Debbie Reynolds and Barry Nelson.

Jean stayed busy by also writing sketches for Almanac. Her book Please Don’t Eat the Daisies came out and did very well, and was so popular that it was even adapted to become a feature film in 1960. A 58 episode situation comedy was also produced by NBC based on the book that ran from 1965 to 1967. She would follow this book up with The Snake Has All the Lines.

Her play Finishing Touches would follow, and Kerr would write more plays– Poor Richard and Lunch Hour. She would also pen the books Penny Candy and How I Got to Be Perfect. Her play Lunch Hour would be her last but was put on in 1980. It starred Sam Waterson and Gilda Radner. Kerr did not initially support Radner being cast in the play, but once she watched Gilda Live, Radner’s performance won her over and she was offered the part.

Kerr wrote her articles and manuscripts in long hand and frequently wrote them in the car with her husband typing them up later. She was married to Walter Kerr, a famous drama critic. They were married in 1943 and would stay married until he passed in 1996. They shared six children together and resided in New Rochelle, New York, later moving to Larchmont, New York. Kerr would pass away on January 5, 2003 in White Plains, New York of pneumonia.

The Snake Has All the Lines is a witty book from Jean Kerr. If you want something that is funny but is a classic that is going to keep you turning the pages, this funny look at show business, home life and more may be just what you need.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and if that is the case, you’re going to want to check out The Snake Has All the Lines. Jean has worn many hats throughout the course of her life and has played many different roles.

She has played the part of exasperated mother, Broadway playwright, and an observer of mid-20th century suburbia. She has become one of the best known and loved humorists in the country through sharing her little anecdotes and insights in a series of well-received newspaper columns.

In this book, Kerr looks at a variety of topics such as family vacations and modern convenience as well as different things from her world, such as the roller coaster ride that is opening a new play. Full of wit, she shows readers that life with small children can be a handful! Check out this book to see what you think and follow along with every word.

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies is a 1957 work by Jean Kerr. This is a book that might end up making you laugh out loud as you relate to many of the themes that Kerr lays out in this book. She talks about life in the suburbs in a popular book that did so well that is was made into a movie. Read this book and then check out the comedy to see this work in all its glory!

It was one day that Jean Kerr packed up her family and she along with her husband and four kids departed from New York City. They had decided to move to a place in the world that was far away that promised them a utopia with beautiful green grass and the daisies grow everywhere wild. The homes there are described as being ‘neo-gingerbread’.

In this collection of essays, Kerr shows the reader her new life and what it is like in this unique place known as Larchmont. It seems like it would be the perfect place. Now they don’t have to deal with tiny apartments and cocktail parties after the theater where the martinis never seem to reach the intended level of dryness.

Now she has so many things that she never could have had in the city. She has a garden, her own washer and dryer, great seats at the third grade school plays, and a new type of insanity to deal with. It appears that moving to the country is not an automatic fix-all for everything.

Can Jean adapt to this new normal and find bliss in this new location, or will she find that there is no such thing as the perfect home? Kerr dives into friends, family, marriage, maintaining a career, home decorating and more in this fascinating collection of essays that can’t be missed. Check out Please Don’t Eat the Daisies to follow along with every word and enjoy a classic that is just as relevant and funny today as ever!