PAULA STEWART

April 9, 1933

Paula Stewart was born Dorothy Paula Zürndorfer in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother, Esther Morris, was an actress. 

She was signed as understudy to Anne Crowley in a production of Seventeen on Broadway in June 1, 1951. Her third Broadway show was The Most Happy Fella, a show produced partly by Desilu and featured on “I Love Lucy.” Stewart joined the cast in 1959, well after the episode aired. 

Stewart was chosen by Lucille Ball to play her younger sister, Janie, on Broadway in Wildcat.  Although Lucille Ball had met Gary Morton previously, it was Paula Stewart who suggested that she date him. Stewart was then in a relationship with a Jack Carter, a comedian who was a contemporary of Morton’s.  When Lucy and Gary said “I do”, Stewart and Carter were their best man and maid of honor.  They, too, married, in March 1961.  Stewart’s first husband was songwriter Burt Bacharach. They were married from 1953 to 1958.

In February 1961, Stewart and Ball appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” to perform “Hey Look Me Over” from Wildcat. 

In January 1964, she appeared as herself on “The Joey Bishop Show” (filmed at Desilu Studios) in an episode titled “Jack Carter Helps Joey Propose”. Clearly the  story was inspired by their experience with Lucy and Gary. 

In December 1965, she was back at Desilu Studios to film an episode of “Hogan’s Heroes”.  

In October 1969, Stewart was reunited with Lucille Ball on “Here’s Lucy” in “Lucy and Harry’s Tonsils” (HL S2;E5). She played Nurse Dean, a sexy alternative to Mary Wickes. 

On December 29, 1969, Stewart guest-starred with George Gobel and Vivian Vance on “Love American Style” in the segment “Love and the Medium.”  

In 2017, she published a memoir titled Lucy Loved Me, about her friendship with Lucille Ball.