Dee Jay Mathis is a dancer and actress best known as James Caan’s first wife. Their marriage began in 1961 and ended in 1966, and they had a daughter, Tara. But her connection to entertainment extends beyond that relationship: records under the names Dee Jay Mattis and Dorothy Jeanne Mattis link her to Broadway and several 1960s films.
Her biography is easiest to understand by following those names through the records. They reveal a performer with stage and screen experience, while leaving parts of her childhood and later personal life less clearly documented.
Who Is Dee Jay Mathis?
Dee Jay Mathis appears in family biographies of James Caan, while film records frequently use Dee Jay Mattis. IMDb identifies her birth name as Dorothy Jeanne Mattis and lists Caan among her former spouses. These variations help connect the family history with her professional work.
An interview-based profile of Caan in Cigar Aficionado also uses the Mattis spelling. It places their marriage and the birth of Tara before the later phase of his Hollywood success. This is useful context: Mathis belonged to an early chapter of Caan’s adult life, years before audiences knew him as Sonny Corleone.
Dee Jay Mathis’s Age and Early Background
IMDb reports that Dee Jay Mattis was born on August 17, 1941, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. If accurate, that date would make her 85 as of September 2026. It is a database-reported birthday; a birth record independently confirming it was not located for this profile.
Her schooling and early training remain less certain. The available material does not establish a complete account of where she studied dance, who taught her, or how she obtained her first professional engagement.
What can be traced more clearly is her work. A Broadway record from 1959 provides a concrete starting point for her performing career.
Her Broadway Work Before the Caan Marriage
The Internet Broadway Database lists Dorothy Jeanne Mattis in the original production of First Impressions. The musical, based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, ran at the Alvin Theatre in 1959. Its cast included Polly Bergen, Hermione Gingold, and Farley Granger.
Mattis appears in the dancing ensemble and in the understudy list for Kitty Bennett, as the character’s name is spelled in the production record. These are specific professional credits, rather than a general description of someone who hoped to become an entertainer.
The distinction between the two assignments matters. Ensemble membership records her place in the production; an understudy credit records responsibility for covering another role. It does not establish how often she performed that role.
This stage work predates her marriage to Caan. It also broadens her career beyond the brief film appearances most commonly associated with her name.
Dee Jay Mathis’s Movies and Screen Credits
Her screen work appears under Dee Jay Mattis. The sources identify different kinds of participation, so an uncredited role, an additional-cast mention, and a dancer listing should not be treated as identical.
| Film | Year | What the source records |
|---|---|---|
| The Patsy | 1964 | IMDbPro lists “Broad,” an uncredited role |
| When the Boys Meet the Girls | 1965 | AFI’s historical notes name her among additional cast members |
| Frankie and Johnny | 1966 | AFI lists her among the dancers |
These entries establish a broader screen record than a two-film summary.
The Patsy (1964)
IMDbPro includes Dee Jay Mattis in the cast of The Patsy, with the character label “Broad” and an uncredited designation. The film starred Jerry Lewis. The correct title is The Patsy.
An uncredited appearance should not be presented as a starring role. Equally, its absence from the on-screen billing does not mean that the appearance has no place in a filmography.
When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965)
AFI’s entry for When the Boys Meet the Girls includes Dee Jay Mattis in its historical discussion of additional cast members. The catalog traces that group of names to a July 9, 1965 item in Daily Variety.
This is a particularly useful record because the source trail is explicit. It connects her name to contemporary production reporting rather than merely repeating a later biographical summary.
The note does not identify a named character for her. The accurate description is therefore an additional-cast listing, without inventing dialogue, screen time, or a featured role.
Frankie and Johnny (1966)
In Frankie and Johnny, starring Elvis Presley and Donna Douglas, AFI lists Dee Jay Mattis alongside other dancers. The catalog identifies Earl Barton as dance director and notes that some sources refer to the group as the Earl Barton Dancers.
That explains the “Earl Barton Dancer” label associated with her in film databases. It describes her connection to the dance ensemble, rather than a character called Earl Barton.
Taken together, the stage and film records show why her career deserves attention in its own right. They do not establish a complete list of every job she held or the date she stopped performing.
Her Marriage to James Caan
Dee Jay Mathis and James Caan married in 1961. Both People and the biographical entries collected by Encyclopedia.com support that year, with the divorce placed in 1966.
Their relationship began before Caan’s best-known work. His acclaimed performances in Brian’s Song and The Godfather came later, in the early 1970s. The marriage therefore belongs to his years of establishing a career, rather than the period following his greatest fame.
A reliable first-person account establishing precisely how the couple met was not located. The often-repeated story of a 1959 meeting at an acting school should not be expanded into a detailed courtship narrative without stronger evidence.
Public Appearances Together
There is photographic evidence of the couple attending industry events. Getty Images holds an Earl Leaf photograph captioned as James Caan with his wife Dee Jay Mathis at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles, dated approximately 1966.
The archive supports that public appearance. It also offers a better reference for identifying a historical photograph than an undated repost. Because the caption uses an approximate date, the photograph should not be assigned a more precise date without additional documentation.
Their Daughter, Tara Caan
Mathis and Caan welcomed Tara in 1964. She was their daughter together and Caan’s first child. His son Scott, born during his later marriage to Sheila Ryan, has a different mother.
Caan eventually had five children across four marriages: Tara, Scott, Alexander, James, and Jacob. The distinction matters when discussing Mathis’s family: Caan’s children from subsequent marriages should not all be described as her children.
The available family summaries establish Tara’s place in the family more clearly than her personal circumstances. They do not provide a basis for reconstructing her childhood routines, her parents’ custody arrangements, or her current relationship with her mother.
Why Did Dee Jay Mathis and James Caan Divorce?
Their marriage ended in 1966, about five years after it began. A well-supported explanation of the specific reasons was not located.
The timing alone cannot explain the separation. Parenthood, career demands, and personal differences may be common subjects in marriage stories, but none should be presented as the cause here without evidence tied to this couple.
Caan’s later relationships and difficulties also belong to their own periods. Events years after the divorce cannot automatically explain what happened during his marriage to Mathis.
Life After the Divorce: Did She Remarry?
IMDb lists a later marriage to Jeffrey D. Cooper, beginning in 1967. That is a reported database detail rather than an independently verified marriage record, but it means a categorical claim that she never remarried is not justified.
Her later working life remains less clearly documented. The stage and screen records reviewed here do not establish why she stopped appearing in particular productions, whether she continued performing elsewhere, or what other employment she pursued.
Likewise, a limited public record does not establish that she deliberately rejected every opportunity connected with Hollywood. Her own explanation of those choices was not located.
Dee Jay Mathis Today: Current Status and Net Worth
As of the September 2026 research for this article, no sufficiently reliable recent source was located confirming Mathis’s present circumstances. Her current residence and health should therefore not be stated as verified facts.
The same applies to whether Dee Jay Mathis is still alive. No reliable death announcement was located, but the absence of an announcement is not independent confirmation of her current status.
Her net worth is also unverified. A marriage to a successful actor and a record of entertainment work do not establish personal assets, income, divorce settlements, or inheritance. Without reliable financial evidence, a dollar estimate would be speculation.
What Happened to James Caan?
James Caan died on July 6, 2022, aged 82. His death was reported publicly the following day.
The Associated Press’s account looked back on his performances in The Godfather, Brian’s Song, and other productions. His long career explains why readers continue to explore his earlier family history, including his marriage to Mathis.
By then, their divorce was decades in the past. Mathis was his first wife and former spouse, rather than his wife at the time of his death.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Dee Jay Mathis an actress or a dancer?
Her records include both screen appearances and dance work. Broadway’s database lists her in the dancing ensemble of First Impressions, and AFI lists her among the dancers in Frankie and Johnny.
Are Dee Jay Mathis and Dee Jay Mattis the same person?
The names are used in records associated with James Caan’s first wife. The Mattis spelling appears in film records and in an interview-based profile of Caan.
Did she appear in only two movies?
The reviewed records connect her with three: The Patsy, When the Boys Meet the Girls, and Frankie and Johnny. These listings should not be treated as proof of a complete lifetime filmography.
Is Dee Jay Mathis Scott Caan’s mother?
No. Scott’s mother was Sheila Ryan. Mathis and James Caan had their daughter Tara together.
