About Me
I was a real asset to Warner Brothers; I took every part offered me and always obeyed the rules. Some think that this is the reason that I was not recognized or given better and more opportunities to show my acting talent. I was only nominated for a Oscar once in 1952 for my portrayal of Annie Rawlins in "The Blue Veil".
I seemed destined to live my life in the spotlight being born August 30, 1906 into a show business family. My father was a vaudeville onstage comic named 'Eddie Joan Blondell' who was one of the original Katzenjammer Kids. I was first on the stage when I was three years old. For years, I toured the circuit with my parents and joined a stock company when I was only 17.
I made my debut into the "big time" with the Ziegfeld Follies and also appeared in several Broadway productions. I starred in a Broadway production with James Cagney when Warner Brothers decided to film the play Sinner's Holiday in 1930. The film being a success, I would again be teamed with Cagney in films such as Public Enemy in 1931 and Blonde Crazy the same year. In The Office Wife in 1930, I stole the scenes when I was dressing for work. Tame by today's standards, it was an erotic shot in the 30's.
While Warner Brothers made Cagney a star, my career never rose to that level. I generally played gold-diggers and happy-go-lucky girlfriends. I was in most of the 1930's Busby Berkeley musicals where I stood out as one of the stars. I would be paired in ten movies with the late Dick Powell; we were married to each other for ten years.
By 1939, I had left Warner Brothers to become an independent actress and begin my move to character roles. Three of my better roles, at that time, were in 'Topper Returns', 1941 'Cry Havoc, 1943' and 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A' 1945 in which I gave, probably my best performance and, in my opinion, should have received a nomination for an Oscar.
In 1957, I would again appear on screen as a drunk and mature companion to Jayne Mansfield in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Movie appearances would be slim, but I made a big impact in the TV series The Real McCoys where I played Winifred Jordan in 1957 and as Lottie Hatfield in Here Come The Brides from 1968-1970. my last movie was The Woman Inside which wasn't released until 1981. (By the time Joan died in Santa Monica, California of leukemia on Christmas Day in 1979, she had been in an astounding 102 productions.)
From classicmoviefavorites.com
