In article <58a346a1$0$22805$c3e8da3$33881b6a@news.astraweb.com>, Robin Hood
says...
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One of the great all-time "B" actresses with 160 credits!...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000951/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
With blonde hair, big blue eyes and a big smile, Joan was usually cast as the
wisecracking working girl who was the lead's best friend. Born into vaudeville
to a comic named Eddie, Joan was on the stage when she was three years old. For
years, she toured the circuit with her parents and joined a stock company when
she was 17. She made her New York debut with the Ziegfeld Follies and appeared
in several Broadway productions. She was starring with James Cagney on Broadway
in "Penny Arcade" (1929) when Warner Brothers decided to film the play as
Sinners' Holiday (1930). Both Cagney and Joan were given the leads, and the film
was a success. She would be teamed with Cagney again in The Public Enemy (1931)
and Blonde Crazy (1931) among others.
In The Office Wife (1930), she stole the scene when she was dressing for work.
While Warner Brothers made Cagney a star, Joan never rose to that level. In
gangster movies or musicals, her performances were good enough for second leads,
but not first lead. In the 1930s, she made a career playing gold-diggers and
happy-go-lucky girlfriends. She would be paired with Dick Powell in ten musicals
during these years, and they were married for ten years. By 1939, Joan had left
Warner Brothers to become an independent actress, but by then, the blonde role
was being defined by actresses like Veronica Lake.
Her work slowed greatly as she went into straight comedy or dramatic roles.
Three of her better roles were in Topper Returns (1941), Cry 'Havoc' (1943), and
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). By the 50s, Joan would garner an Academy Award
nomination for The Blue Veil (1951), but her biggest career successes would be
on the stage, including a musical version of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
In 1957, Joan would again appear on the screen as a drunk in Lizzie (1957) and
as mature companion to Jayne Mansfield in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
(1957). While she would appear in a number of television shows during the 50s
and 60s, she had the regular role of Winifred on The Real McCoys (1957) during
the 1963 season. Her role in the drama The Cincinnati Kid (1965) was well
received, but most of her remaining films would be comedies such as Waterhole #3
(1967) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971).
Still in demand for TV, she was cast as Lottie on Here Come the Brides (1968)
and as Peggy on Banyon (1971).
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