Jean Allison, character actress on television, film, dead at 94

Jean Allison, a character actress on dozens of television shows who also starred in the 1958 crime drama “Edge of Fury,” died Feb. 28, her family announced. She was 94.

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According to her obituary, Allison was a resident of Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Allison appeared on dozens of television shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her credits include “Perry Mason,” “Have Gun -- Will Travel,” “Bonanza,” “Hawaiian Eye,” “The Rifleman,” “McCloud,” “Adam-12,” “The Waltons” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Starsky & Hutch” and “Highway to Heaven.”

On film, Allison debuted in “Edge of Fury” and also appeared in “The Devil’s Partner” (1960), “The Steagle” (1971), “Bad Company” (1972) and “Hardcore” (1979), according to People.

Allison was born on Oct. 24, 1929, and grew up in Tarrytown, New York, Deadline reported. She attended Adelphi College on Long Island and later studied acting under Sanford Meisner, according to the entertainment news website.

Allison was married three times, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was first married to actor-director Lee Phillips and then to boxing trainer Jerry Boyd.

She married Philip Toorvald in 1961 and remained with him until his death in 1994, the entertainment news website reported.

After Toorvald’s death, Allison had a relationship with longtime cameraman Jack Couffer, People reported. The pair worked together on “The Edge of Fury” and remained companions until Couffer’s death in 2021.

Allison is survived by her three children, Erin, Sven and Tina, whom she had with Toorvald, according to Deadline.

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