Irene Hervey (July 11, 1910 – December 20, 1998) was an American television and film actress.
Born Irene Herwick in Los Angeles, she began her acting career after being introduced to a casting agent from MGM. After a successful screen test, she was signed by the studio and made her screen debut in the 1933 film The Stranger's Return, opposite Lionel Barrymore. Though signed by MGM, Hervey was loaned out by the studio and appeared in several films including United Artists' The Count of Monte Cristo (1934).
In 1936, Hervey left MGM and signed with Universal Pictures. While at Universal, Hervey appeared in The League of Frightened Men (1937) and Destry Rides Again (1939) with Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart.
In 1943, Hervey was seriously injured in a car accident and was forced to retire from acting five years.
Hervey returned to acting in 1948 with the film Mickey, followed by Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. By the early 1950s, she began appearing in the new medium of the era; television. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Hervey appeared in several television shows including Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Peter Gunn, and Hawaiian Eye. In 1965, she landed a regular role on The Young Marrieds, followed by a stint on the short lived series Honey West as the titular character's Aunt Meg.
In 1969, Hervey was nominated for an Emmy Award for her appearance on My Three Sons. After roles in Cactus Flower and the 1971 film Play Misty for Me with Clint Eastwood, Hervey retired from acting. She took a job working at a travel agency in Sherman Oaks, California and briefly returned to acting in 1978 with a role in Charlie's Angels. In 1981, she made her last onscreen appearance in the television movie Goliath Awaits.
As a teenager, Hervey married her first husband and had a daughter, Gail, before divorcing. In 1936, she met and married actor Allan Jones. The couple had a son, singer Jack Jones, before divorcing in 1957.
On December 20, 1998, Hervey died of heart failure in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Irene Hervey has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6338 Hollywood Boulevard.
