Born Theodore Allan Jones, on October 14, 1907, in Old Forge, Pennsylvania and died June 27, 1992, in New York, New York, he was an American actor and singer. For many years he was married to actress Irene Hervey; their son is American pop singer Jack Jones.

Jones starred in many film musicals during the 1930s and 1940s. The best-known of these were Show Boat (1936), and The Firefly (1937), in which he sang the popular song "The Donkey Serenade." However, he is now best remembered as the romantic straight man to the Marx Brothers in their first two MGM productions, A Night at the Opera, and A Day at the Races.

On the strength of his appearance in A Night at the Opera, he was cast, opposite Irene Dunne, in the 1936 film version of Show Boat. This became Jones's most distinguished screen role, in which, under the direction of James Whale, he was to display dramatic acting ability as well as musical talent.