Jan Shutan Bio – Career Achievements, Was She Married?

Jan Shutan – born November 5, 1932, died October 7, 2021, at 88 years old.

Movie lovers during the 1960s and 70s will remember Jan Shutan, the Californian, best recognized for her remarkable performance in Star Trek: The Original Series. Particularly, she participated in Star Trek: The Original Series –  The Lights of Zetar episode in 1969. There, she played the role of Lt. Mira Romaine, young officer Scotty’s love interest. After filming her scenes for the TV series which commenced on the 1st of November 1968 was concluded, she scored other roles on both the small and big screens. Jan started out as a model before making on-screen appearances and is known for her work in the cinema.

Considering her date of birth, Shutan succeeded in leaving her footsteps on the sands of time in the entertainment world. The late American actress surfaced on the small screen in a single episode of the television series titled Arrest and Trial in 1963, after which she went ahead to record a total of 26 credits. Her last appearance was in 1981 when she graced the screen on the set of the television movie This House Possessed. The veteran actress dropped off the radar of the media before she died on October 7, 2021.

Jan Shutan was a Californian native

Though we cannot lay our hands on information regarding her early years and family background, it is on record that Jan Shutan was born on the 5th of November in 1932. Her place of birth is Los Angeles, California, which points to her American citizenship. The actress’s ethnicity is not known but that is not the only aspect of her life that is not in the public eye. We don’t equally know the identity of her parents and siblings if any.

Even though the records failed to capture the details of her academic qualifications and institutions attended, it goes without saying that the former Californian model cum actress achieved the level of education she needed to attain in order to attain such a level of success in the industry. The American veteran was still very young when she surfaced on the runway as a model, however, she later discovered her forte in acting where she recorded a good number of roles before retirement in the early 1980s.

Jan Shutan appeared on the entertainment scene in the ’60s, recording her biggest role in Star Trek: The Original Series

Jan on the Andy Griffith Show image source

As earlier mentioned, the octogenarian, recorded 26 credits before calling it quits with showbiz in 1981. After her single episode appearance in Arrest and Trial in 1963, she scored her next role in another series Ben Casey that featured her in five episodes between 1963 and 1966. While Ben Casey was still having its run, the American joined the cast of The Outer Limits – a 1964 series that cast her in one episode.

The next year, Jan Shutan was seen in four productions – TV pilot Barnaby, The Andy Griffith Show (television series with appearances in one episode), The Fugitive (TV series in one episode), FBI (TV series in one episode). Her 1966 credits were quite a few, including the television movie Man in the Square Suit and the TV series Felony Squad where she was seen in single episodes. It was in 1969 that she scored her best-known role in Star Trek: The Original Series and also appeared in Room 222 which had its run from 1969 through ’70 in eight episodes.

Here are some of her 1970s roles

Shutan’s career in the movies continued to prosper, running into the 1970s. The decade opened with the actress making a one-episode appearance in Nanny and the Professor (1970). A couple of roles followed in 1971 on the sets of The Seven Minutes and The Night Gallery (another TV series where she showed up in one episode). The actress sure recorded a series of one episode appearances, Love, American Style being one of them in 1972. Jan was also part of Message to my Daughter. She landed two roles in 1974, the TV film: Love Is Not Forever and Sons and Daughters, a series where she was featured in nine episodes.

Her next batch of single-episode appearances would occur in 1975 and ’76 on the sets of Three for the Road series and the TV series Charlie’s Angels respectively. Also, between 1976 and 1977, Jan Shutan showed up in two episodes of Quincy, M. E., following which she made her next appearances in Dracula’s Dog and Mother, Juggs & Speed, both in 1978. The actress was already inching towards the end of her entertainment career when she was cast in a single episode of the TV series, Hello, Larry and NBC Special Treat both in 1979. She took a bow after breathing life into the character of Helen on the set of This House Possessed in 1981. It is believed that the actress is done with the glittering world of showbiz as she takes her well-deserved rest.

Highlights of Jan Shutan’s movies and TV shows

Television series

• NBC Special Treat – 1979
• Hello, Larry – 1979
• Quincy M.E. – 1976-1977
• Charlie’s Angels – 1976
• Three for the Road -1975
• Sons and Daughters – 1974
• Love, American Style – 1972
• Night Gallery – 1971
• Nanny and the Professor – 1970
• Room 222 – 1969-1970
• Star Trek: The Original Series – 1969
• The Felony Squad – 1966
• Ben Casey – 1963-1966
• The F.B.I. – 1965
• The Fugitive – 1965
• The Andy Griffith Show – 1965
• The Outer Limits – 1964
• My Three Sons – 1964
• Arrest and Trial – 1963

Movies

• This House Possessed – 1981
• Mother, Juggs & Speed – 1978
• Dracula’s Dog – 1977
• Love Is Not Forever – 1974
• Message to My Daughter – 1973
• The Seven Minutes – 1971
• Dick Tracy – 1967
• Man in the Square Suit – 1966
• Barnaby – 1965

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She was in an almost 40-year-long marriage with David Levinson

Jan tied the nuptials with David Levinson, just before Christmas on 24th December 1980. The five feet six inches tall actress was two years short of 50 before her only known nuptials, indicating that she married late. One would expect that she must have been enmeshed in some other romantic entanglements prior to the marriage, but this was not on record. Thus, David is taken as the only known man she dated and married.

The couple’s marriage lasted for almost four decades until David’s death in 2019. Jan Shutan was already in her eighties after her husband’s demise and obviously, she didn’t venture into any other dalliance that we know of. It is on record that she had two children while her husband had three but there is no proof that they produced the children together.

Jan Shutan died in 2021

The veteran actress, Jan Shutan died in Beverly Hills, California on October 7, 2021. She was 88 years old when she died and was survived by two children. Her cause of death was not shared with the public but considering her age at the time, natural causes are likely the case.