Maybelline’s Romeo and Juliet.

Jim loved Shirley for her sweetness, her smile and the way she believed in his dreams. You see Jim loved the theatre, it was in his blood, he couldn’t help it – being born with Movie Star, good looks – the likes of James Dean and Gregory Peck. All he wanted, was to be recognized for what was inside him, so when he won a scholarship to the Goodman Theatre School in Chicago, Shirley couldn’t have been more proud.

Jim quickly rose to the ranks of some of his classmates, who included, Harvey Korman and Tim Conway. Jim especially loved directing and eventually taught acting at a college, where one of his favorite students was Karen Black. Now you can see the quality of acting, Jim, possessed.

Beautiful, sweet, Shirley, with the eyes of an angel, and the spirit of Juliet herself, met her Romeo, in 1945, when she was 18, and he was 20, fresh out of the Service, during WW11. It just took one look and Shirley knew – someday they’d be married.

Shirley’s parents, Mabel and Chet Hewes, (if you’ve been following the Maybelline Blog, you know that Mabel is Tom Lyle Williams, sister and Maybelline’s namesake) loved their son-in-law and appreciated everything he did to help make De Luxe a thriving business. 

Today would have been Jim’s 87th Birthday, and I know that if he were alive today, he’d want his three girls to know, how proud he is of them, and that they were the greatest joy of his life.



Romeo and Juliet.

Happy Birthday Jim, a true Romeo – who loved his Juliet with all his heart.