Known for Costume & Make-Up
Jean Elizabeth Burt usually credited as Jean Burt Reilly was an American hair stylist whose career in Hollywood spanned nearly four decades. Born in Vananda, Montana, and educated at San Diego High School, Burt began her career as a radio performer in the early 1930s. She later toured with the Marx Brothers performing scenes from A Night at the Opera (1935) and appeared uncredited in the film as the manicurist in the famous stateroom scene. She also appeared as a telephone operator in A Day at the Races (1937). A few months before the latter film's release, she passed the California State Board of Cosmetology examination in permanent waving. She subsequently worked for Max Factor as an advisory expert on makeup before becoming a Hollywood hair stylist. Her first film as a hair stylist was Casablanca (1942), beginning a 39-year screen career. By the mid-1950s, Reilly had become head of hair styling at Warner Bros., frequently working in a supervisory capacity. Her credits included The Music Man, Days of Wine and Roses, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Ensign Pulver, My Fair Lady, The Great Race, Camelot, Cool Hand Luke, Rocky II, Ordinary People and Raging Bull. Her final film was True Confessions (1981). Reilly also worked extensively in television, including The Alaskans, *77 Sunset Strip, No Time for Sergeants, Mister Roberts and F Troop. She and Billie Laughridge won an Emmy for Eleanor and Franklin in 1976, and Reilly received another nomination for Ike: The War Years in 1979. In 1967, she also helped create a new look for Petula Clark. Her work on Raging Bull received an unusually prominent tribute when Robert De Niro thanked her during his Academy Award acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for the film. Decades after A Night at the Opera, Burt's tiny uncredited appearance became the subject of a running fascination on The Marx Brothers Council Podcast. Co-host Bob Gassel in particular had repeatedly spoken about trying to discover the identity of the mysterious manicurist. Her identity was eventually uncovered by Robert “Bob” Stryker, who uploaded a clear screengrab of her to Ancestry.com. Stryker had used the same method to identify to try and identify her around half a dozen times over the years but never got a result. The discovery produced an unexpected result: rather than being simply an otherwise unknown featured extra, the manicurist turned out to be a woman who went on to have a substantial career of her own behind the scenes in Hollywood. Reilly married Max Factor chemist Glenn B. Weible in 1940. Following his death in 1943, she married film editor Thomas Reilly in 1949. On June 24, 1962, she was recognised for 25 years of service by Hollywood Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Local 706. She died in Los Angeles on February 15, 1981, aged 65.
Born
August 26, 1915
Died
February 15, 1981 (age 65)
Birthplace
Silver Bow County, Montana, USA
Filmography
82 films


True Confessions
1981 · 1h 48m
country: United States
A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.


Raging Bull
1980 · 2h 9m
country: United States
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.


Ordinary People
1980 · 2h 4m
country: United States
Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.


Rocky II
1979 · 1h 59m
country: United States
After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. Soon enough, the "Master of Disaster" and the "Italian Stallion" are set on a collision course for a climactic battle that is brutal and unforgettable.


Paradise Alley
1978 · 1h 47m
country: United States
Three Italian-American brothers, living in the slums of 1940's New York City, try to help each other with one's wrestling career using one brother's promotional skills and another brother's con-artist tactics to thwart a sleazy manager.


Casey's Shadow
1978 · 1h 57m
country: United States
Young Casey comes from a family of racehorse trainers, and his best friend, a foal called Casey's Shadow, may just be a champion.


Telefon
1977 · 1h 42m
country: United States
Nicolai Dalchimski, a mad KGB agent steals a notebook full of names of "sleeping" undercover KGB agents sent to the U.S. in the 1950's. These agents got their assignments under hypnosis, so they can't remember their missions until they're told a line of a Robert Frost poem. Dalchimski flees to the U.S. and starts phoning these agents who perform sabotage acts against military targets.


The Towering Inferno
1974 · 2h 45m
country: United States
At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.


The Klansman
1974 · 1h 52m
country: United States
A small southern town has just been rocked by a tragedy: a young white woman has been raped by a black man. When young black man Garth witnesses the Ku Klux Klan's violent retaliation against his innocent friend, Garth declares a one-man war on the Klan and hunts them down one-by-one.


Mame
1974 · 2h 11m
country: United States
The madcap life of eccentric Mame Dennis and her bohemian, intellectual arty clique is disrupted when her deceased brother's 10-year-old son Patrick is entrusted to her care. Rather than bow to convention, Mame introduces the boy to her free-wheeling lifestyle, instilling in him her favorite credo, "Life is a banquet, and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death."


The Thief Who Came to Dinner
1973 · 1h 44m
country: United States
A computer programmer decides to become a thief. And when he starts making waves, an insurance investigator hounds him. He also meets a woman who becomes his accomplice.


Dirty Harry
1971 · 1h 42m
country: United States
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.


There Was a Crooked Man...
1970 · 2h 3m
country: United States
A charming but ruthless criminal is sent to a remote Arizona prison, where he enlists the help of his cellmates in an escape attempt with the promise of sharing his hidden loot.


The Learning Tree
1969 · 1h 47m
country: United States
The story, set in Kansas during the 1920's, covers less than a year in the life of a black teenager, and documents the veritable deluge of events which force him into sudden manhood. The family relationships and enmities, the fears, frustrations and ambitions of the black teenager in small-town America are explored with a strong statement about human values.


The Big Bounce
1969 · 1h 42m
country: United States
A Vietnam veteran and ex-con is persuaded by a shady woman to rob a $50,000 payroll account on a California produce farm. But who is playing who?


Finian's Rainbow
1968 · 2h 25m
country: United States
An Irishman and his daughter arrive in the American South with a stolen pot of gold, hoping to make their fortune. Pursued by a leprechaun desperate to recover his treasure, they become entangled in a battle over land, love, and prejudice in Rainbow Valley—where the gold’s magic turns wishes, and lives, upside down.


Sweet November
1968 · 1h 54m
country: United States
A woman refuses to let her romances last longer than one month.


Firecreek
1968 · 1h 44m
country: United States
A peace-loving, part-time sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of vicious outlaws takes over his town.


Cool Hand Luke
1967 · 2h 7m
country: United States
When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.


Wait Until Dark
1967 · 1h 48m
country: United States
After a flight back home, Sam Hendrix returns with a doll he innocently acquired along the way. As it turns out, the doll is actually stuffed with heroin, and a group of criminals led by the ruthless Roat has followed Hendrix back to his place to retrieve it. When Hendrix leaves for business, the crooks make their move -- and find his blind wife, Susy, alone in the apartment. Soon, a life-threatening game begins between Susy and the thugs.


Camelot
1967 · 3h
country: United States
The plot of his illegitimate son Mordred to gain the throne, and Guinevere's growing attachment to Sir Lancelot, threatens to topple King Arthur and destroy his "round table" of knights.


Countdown
1967 · 1h 41m
country: United States
Desperate to land a man on the moon before Russia does, NASA hastily preps a would-be spaceman for a mission that would leave him alone in a lunar shelter for a year.


First to Fight
1967 · 1h 37m
country: United States
Jack is the sole survivor of a Japanese attack on his squad at Guadalcanal. Because of his heroism and the fact that he is still alive, he becomes a Medal of Honor hero. He returns to train new recruits for the Marines and falls for a girl named Peggy. When training and marriage leave him with an empty feeling, he decides on a transfer back to the front lines. Soon he will find that marriage and life will change his outlook on the grueling battles that lie ahead.


Not With My Wife, You Don't!
1966 · 1h 59m
country: United States
During the Korean War, Italian nurse Virna Lisi falls in love with two American fliers, Tony Curtis and George C. Scott. Lisi marries Curtis after he convinces her that Scott has been killed in a plane crash. She soon discovers Scott is alive, but remains happily married to Curtis until Scott re-enters their lives 14 years later.


Chamber of Horrors
1966 · 1h 39m
country: United States
A one-handed madman (he lost the hand while escaping a hanging) uses various detachable devices as murder weapons to gain revenge on those he believes have wronged him.


An American Dream
1966 · 1h 43m
country: United States
Stephen Rojack is a decorated war vet who has now found success as an outspoken television personality. During a vicious argument with his wife, Deborah, Stephen snaps and pushes her from his high-rise apartment to her death. He manages to convince the authorities that she killed herself, then reignites an old affair with singer Cherry McMahon -- which doesn't sit well with her jealous mobster boyfriend, Nicky.


Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1966 · 2h 11m
country: United States
A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.


A Big Hand for the Little Lady
1966 · 1h 35m
country: United States
A naive traveler in Laredo gets involved in a poker game between the richest men in the area, jeopardizing all the money he has saved for the purpose of settling with his wife and child in San Antonio.


My Blood Runs Cold
1965 · 1h 44m
country: United States
Wealthy, reckless Californian Julie Merriday, accompanied by her boyfriend Harry Lindsay, an attorney, narrowly avoids crashing into a motorcycle driven by young Ben Gunther. Ben temporarily abandons his damaged cycle and accepts a ride from Julie but insists upon calling her Barbara. Later, at the Merriday beach house, Julie's Aunt Sarah tells Julie that her great great grandmother was named Barbara, and furthermore, that ancestress had an illegitimate child fathered by one Benjamin Gunther.


Dear Heart
1965 · 1h 54m
country: United States
A lonely Ohio spinster hopes to find romance when she travels to New York City for a postmasters' convention.


Youngblood Hawke
1964 · 2h 17m
country: United States
An unknown Kentucky writer comes to New York and pursues fame and women.


The Incredible Mr. Limpet
1964 · 1h 39m
country: United States
Milquetoast Henry Limpet experiences his fondest wish and is transformed into a fish. As a talking fish he assists the US Navy in hunting German submarines during World War II.


Spencer's Mountain
1963 · 1h 58m
country: United States
Clay Spencer and his wife, Olivia, live in a small town deep in the mountains. When Clay isn't busy drinking with his buddies or railing against the town minister, he's building the house he's always promised Olivia. He is overjoyed when he learns his eldest son will be the first Spencer to attend college, if he can resist the charms of a pretty local girl and rustle up the money for tuition.


Critic's Choice
1963 · 1h 40m
country: United States
Parker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his marriage.


Gypsy
1962 · 2h 23m
country: United States
Gypsy's mother Rose dreams of a life in show business for her daughters, but Louise becomes a huge burlesque star. Stage musical loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee.


Red Nightmare
1962 · 29m
country: United States
A man takes his American freedoms for granted, until he wakes up one morning to find out that the United States Government has been replaced with a Communist system. The basis for this short film, narrated by Jack Webb, is the alleged Soviet re-creation of US communities for the purpose of training infiltrators, spies, and moles.


Parrish
1961 · 2h 18m
country: United States
Parrish McLean lives with his mother Ellen on Sala Post's tobacco plantation in the Connecticut River Valley. His mother winds up marrying Sala's rival Judd Raike, ruthless planter who wants to drive Sala out of business. Judd insists that Parrish learn the business from the ground up.


Portrait of a Mobster
1961 · 1h 48m
country: United States
A vicious hood rises to the top of the rackets in Depression-era New York in this account of the life of Dutch Schultz.


A Fever in the Blood
1961 · 1h 57m
country: United States
A judge, a district attorney and a U.S. senator, each hoping to be elected the next governor, attempt to manipulate a murder trial to advance their own political ambitions.


Whiplash
1948 · 1h 31m
country: United States
An artist follows a woman from California to New York, where he boxes for her mobster husband.


The Decision of Christopher Blake
1948 · 1h 15m
country: United States
A young boy begins to have fantasies when he learns his parents are planning to divorce. Director Peter Godfrey's 1948 drama stars Ted Donaldson, Alexis Smith, Robert Douglas, Cecil Kellaway, John Hoyt, Mary Wickes and Harry Davenport.


The Conspirators
1944 · 1h 41m
country: United States
A guerilla leader falls in love with a mysterious woman in World War II Lisbon.


Casablanca
1943 · 1h 42m
country: United States
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.