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WHEREAS, numerous nationally recognized stars of stage, screen and television were born and raised and began careers in the Western Pennsylvania region; and,
WHEREAS, Pittsburgh is proud to claim Shirley Jones as one of its own; and,
WHEREAS, Shirley Jones was born in Charleroi and raised in Smithton, PA and began her distinctive career after being crowned Miss Pittsburgh in 1952; and,
WHEREAS, following an apprenticeship at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and her professional stage debut in 1953 in Pittsburgh CLO's Lady in the Dark at Pitt Stadium, Ms. Jones left for New York; and,
WHEREAS, in her first audition, Shirley Jones was discovered by the famed team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for a role in South Pacific and was the only performer in history to be under an exclusive contract with them; and,
WHEREAS, after her dynamic role as Laurey in Oklahoma, her career skyrocketed and she went on to star on the big screen in "Carousel", "The Music Man", "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" and earned an Academy Award in 1960 for her stunning performance as LuLu Baines in "Elmer Gantry" ; and,
WHEREAS, television brought Shirley Jones into the hearts and homes of America with the 1970's hit, The Partridge Family; and,
WHEREAS, in addition to her Academy Award, Shirley Jones has received several Emmy Nominations, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and , most recently, the prestigious Richard Rodgers Award at the Pittsburgh CLO Guild's Pink Frolic Ball.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize Shirley Jones' return to Pittsburgh in the CLO production of Oklahoma! and honors her remarkable five decade career in stage, screen and television; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare June 26, 2007, to be SHIRLEY JONES DAY in the City of Pittsburgh.