Joan Banks
Encyclopedia
Joan Banks was an American film, television, stage and radio actress who often appeared in dramas with her husband, Frank Lovejoy
.
Born in Petersburg, West Virginia
, Banks became a regular on the 1930s radio series Gangbusters, with weekly episodes based on real criminal incidents. She married fellow Gangbusters actor Frank Lovejoy. The couple had two children (a boy and a girl).
, Private Secretary
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, The Rough Riders
, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
, Perry Mason
and Hazel
.
On October 2, 1962, Frank Lovejoy died of a heart attack in bed at the couple's New York residence. At the time, he and Banks were appearing together in a New Jersey stage production of The Best Man,, but they had been off the night he was stricken. Banks' career in radio continued after her work in television subsided, and she appeared in 33 episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater
from 1974 to 1980.
in 1998 from lung cancer
at the age of 79. She was buried next to her husband in Holy Cross Cemetery
in Culver City, California
.
Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
.
Born in Petersburg, West Virginia
Petersburg, West Virginia
Petersburg is a city in Grant County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,423 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grant County.-History:...
, Banks became a regular on the 1930s radio series Gangbusters, with weekly episodes based on real criminal incidents. She married fellow Gangbusters actor Frank Lovejoy. The couple had two children (a boy and a girl).
Films and television
Banks began her Hollywood career with small roles in such films as Cry Danger (1951) and Washington Story (1952). She became better known in the 1950s and early 1960s for her many appearances as a supporting actress on various television series, with appearances on I Love LucyI Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, Private Secretary
Private Secretary (TV series)
Private Secretary is an American sitcom that aired from February 1, 1953 to September 10, 1957 on CBS, alternating with The Jack Benny Program on Sundays at 7:30pm EST...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, The Rough Riders
The Rough Riders (TV series)
The Rough Riders is an American Western television series set in the West after the American Civil War. It aired on ABC for the 1958-1959 television season...
, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
and Hazel
Hazel (TV series)
Hazel is a Screen Gems television series about a fictional live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters. The five-season, 154-episode series aired in primetime from September 1961 until April 1966...
.
On October 2, 1962, Frank Lovejoy died of a heart attack in bed at the couple's New York residence. At the time, he and Banks were appearing together in a New Jersey stage production of The Best Man,, but they had been off the night he was stricken. Banks' career in radio continued after her work in television subsided, and she appeared in 33 episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
from 1974 to 1980.
Death
Joan Banks died in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1998 from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at the age of 79. She was buried next to her husband in Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
.