Early Life and Career
Commonly thought to have been born in El Paso, Texas, Irene was actually born in San Francisco, California (IMDB entry for Irene Ryan). This is proven by personal records closer to the family, and census records. Ryan was born Jessie Irene Noblitt. She was born to an American father, James Merrit Noblitt, and an Irish immigrant mother, Katherine McSharry.
Before her role as "Granny" on The Beverly Hillbillies, Ryan was an established vaudeville, radio, and movie actress, though not as well known prior to her television stint. Ryan and her first husband, writer-comedian Tim Ryan, were popular in vaudeville. Their type of double act, known in show business as a "Dumb Dora" routine and epitomized by George Burns and Gracie Allen, had the dizzy woman saying silly things to her boyfriend or husband, and foil. Billed as "Tim and Irene", they had their own series of short subjects in the 1930s for Educational Pictures, and later worked in feature films for Monogram Pictures.
After Tim and Irene divorced, she toured with Bob Hope, making regular appearances on his radio show, and also played Edgar Kennedy's wife in two of his series of short films in 1943. In 1946 she married Harold Knox. She continued to work in motion pictures of the late 1940s and early 1950s, generally playing fussy or nervous women. In January 1955, Ryan made her first television sitcom appearance on an episode of CBS's The Danny Thomas Show. Later that same month, she appeared in ABC's The Ray Bolger Show.
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