Joan Blondell
Encyclopedia
Rose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.
After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career. Establishing herself as a sexy wisecracking blonde, she was a pre-Code staple of Warner Brothers and appeared in more than 100 movies
and television productions. She was most active in films during the 1930s, and during this time she co-starred with Glenda Farrell
in nine films, in which the duo portrayed gold-diggers. Blondell continued acting for the rest of her life, often in small character roles or supporting television roles. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
for her work in The Blue Veil
(1951).
Blondell was seen in featured roles in two films released shortly before her death from leukemia
, Grease
(1978) and the remake of The Champ
(1979).
family in New York City. Her father, known as Eddie Joan Blondell, Jr., was born in Indiana
in 1866 to French parents, and was a vaudeville comedian
and one of the original Katzenjammer Kids
. Blondell's mother was Kathryn ("Katie") Cain, born April 13, 1884, in Brooklyn of Irish American parents. Her younger sister, Gloria
, also an actress, was briefly married to film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli
(the future producer of the James Bond
film series) and bears a strong resemblance to her older sister, Joan. Blondell also had a brother, the namesake of her father and grandfather. Her cradle was a property trunk as her parents moved from place to place and she made her first appearance on stage at the age of four months when she was carried on in a cradle as the daughter of Peggy Astaire in The Greatest Love.
Joan had spent six years in Australia and seen much of the world by the time her family, who had been on tour, settled in Dallas, Texas
when she was a teenager. Under the name Rosebud Blondell, she won the 1926 Miss Dallas pageant
and placed fourth for Miss America
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
, in September of that same year. She attended what is now the University of North Texas
, then a teacher's college, in Denton
, where her mother was a local stage actress, and she worked as a fashion model
, a circus hand, and a clerk in a New York store. Around 1927, she returned to New York, joined a stock company to become an actress, and performed on Broadway
. In 1930, she starred with James Cagney
in Penny Arcade.
Penny Arcade only lasted three weeks, but Al Jolson
saw it and bought the rights to the play for $20,000. He then sold the rights to Warner Brothers with the proviso that Blondell and Cagney be cast in the film version. Placed under contract by Warners, she moved to Hollywood where studio boss Jack Warner
wanted her to change her name to "Inez Holmes", but Blondell refused. She began to appear in short subjects, and was named as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars
in 1931.
Blondell was paired with James Cagney in such films as Sinners' Holiday (1930
) – the film version of Penny Arcade – and The Public Enemy
(1931), and was one half of a gold-digging duo with Glenda Farrell
in nine films. During the Great Depression
, Blondell was one of the highest paid individuals in the United States
. Her stirring rendition of "Remember My Forgotten Man" in the Busby Berkeley
production of Gold Diggers of 1933
, in which she co-starred with Dick Powell
and Ruby Keeler
, became an anthem for the frustrations of the unemployed and the government's failed economic policies. (Even though she was cast in many of the classic Warners musicals, she was not a singer, and in the Forgotten Man number, she mostly talked and acted her way through the song.) In 1937, she starred opposite Errol Flynn
in The Perfect Specimen.
By the end of the decade, she had made nearly fifty films, despite having left Warner Bros. in 1939. Continuing to work regularly for the rest of her life, Blondell was well received in her later films, despite being relegated to character and supporting roles after the mid-1940s (she was billed below the title for the first time in 14 years in 1945's Adventure
, which starred Clark Gable
and Greer Garson), and received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
nomination for her role in The Blue Veil
(1951). She was also featured prominently in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
(1945); Nightmare Alley
(1947); The Opposite Sex
(1956), which paired her with ex-husband Dick Powell's wife, June Allyson; Desk Set
(1957); and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
(1957). She received considerable acclaim for her performance as Lady Fingers in Norman Jewison
's The Cincinnati Kid
(1965), garnering a Golden Globe nomination and National Board of Review win for Best Supporting Actress. John Cassavetes
cast her as a cynical, aging playwright in his film Opening Night (1977). Blondell was widely seen in two films released not long before her death, Grease
(1978) and the remake of The Champ
(1979) with Jon Voight
and Rick Schroder
.
Blondell also appeared in various television programs, including the episode "You're All Right, Ivy" of Jack Palance
's circus drama, The Greatest Show on Earth
, which aired on ABC
in the 1963—1964 television season. Her co-stars in the segment were Joe E. Brown
and Buster Keaton
. In 1965, she was in the running to replace Vivian Vance
as Lucille Ball's sidekick on the hit CBS television comedy series The Lucy Show
. Unfortunately, after filming her second guest appearance as 'Joan Brenner' (Lucy's new friend from California), Blondell walked off the set right after the episode had completed filming when Ball humiliated her by harshly criticizing her performance in front of the studio audience and technicians.
Blondell continued working on television. In 1968, she guest-starred on the CBS-TV sitcom Family Affair
. She also replaced Bea Benaderet
, who was ill, for one episode on the CBS television series Petticoat Junction
. In that installment, Blondell played FloraBelle Campbell, a lady visitor to Hooterville
, who had once dated Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan
) and Sam Drucker (Frank Cady
). That same year, Blondell co-starred in the ABC western
series Here Come the Brides
, set in the Pacific Northwest
of the 19th century. Her co-stars included singer Bobby Sherman
and actor-singer David Soul
. For her performance as Lottie Hatfield, Blondell received two consecutive Emmy nominations for outstanding continued performance by an actress in a dramatic series.
In 1972, she had an ongoing supporting role in the NBC series Banyon
as Peggy Revere, who operated a secretarial school in the same building as Banyon's detective agency. This was a 1930s period action drama starring Robert Forster
in the titular role. Her students worked in Banyon's office, providing fresh faces for the show weekly. The series was replaced mid-season.
Blondell has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
for her contribution to Motion Pictures, at 6309 Hollywood Boulevard. In December 2007, the Museum of Modern Art
in New York City mounted a retrospective of Blondell's films in connection with a new biography by film professor Matthew Kennedy
and theatrical revival houses such as Film Forum
in Manhattan
have also projected many of her films recently.
George Barnes
in a private wedding ceremony on 4 January 1933 at the First Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, Arizona
. They had one child — Norman S. Powell, who became an accomplished producer, director, and television executive — and divorced in 1936. On 19 September 1936, she married her second husband, actor, director
, and singer Dick Powell
. They had a daughter, Ellen Powell, who became a studio hair stylist, and Powell adopted her son by her previous marriage. Blondell and Powell were divorced on 14 July 1944.
On 5 July 1947, Blondell married her third husband, producer
Mike Todd
, whom she divorced in 1950. Her marriage to Todd was an emotional and financial disaster. She once accused him of holding her outside a hotel window by her ankles. He was also a heavy spender who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars gambling (high-stakes bridge
was one of his weaknesses) and went through a controversial bankruptcy during their marriage. An often-repeated myth is that Mike Todd "dumped" Joan Blondell for Elizabeth Taylor
. In actuality, Blondell left Todd of her own accord years before he met Taylor.
She died of leukemia
in Santa Monica, California
, on Christmas Day 1979 at the age of 73 with her children and her sister at her bedside. She is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
.
She wrote a novel titled Center Door Fancy (New York: Delacorte Press, 1972), which was a thinly disguised autobiography.
After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career. Establishing herself as a sexy wisecracking blonde, she was a pre-Code staple of Warner Brothers and appeared in more than 100 movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television productions. She was most active in films during the 1930s, and during this time she co-starred with Glenda Farrell
Glenda Farrell
-Career:Farrell came to Hollywood towards the end of the silent era. Farrell began her career with a theatrical company at the age of 7. She played Little Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin...
in nine films, in which the duo portrayed gold-diggers. Blondell continued acting for the rest of her life, often in small character roles or supporting television roles. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for her work in The Blue Veil
The Blue Veil
The Blue Veil is a 1951 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The screenplay by Norman Corwin is based on a story by François Campaux, which was adapted for the French language film Le Voile bleu in 1942.-Plot:...
(1951).
Blondell was seen in featured roles in two films released shortly before her death from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
(1978) and the remake of The Champ
The Champ (1979 film)
The Champ is a 1979 remake, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, of the 1931 Academy Award-winning film of the same name which was directed by King Vidor. It stars Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, and Ricky Schroder. It is also the final film for actress Joan Blondell....
(1979).
Early life
Blondell was born to a vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
family in New York City. Her father, known as Eddie Joan Blondell, Jr., was born in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1866 to French parents, and was a vaudeville comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and one of the original Katzenjammer Kids
Katzenjammer Kids
The Katzenjammer Kids is an American comic strip created by the German immigrant Rudolph Dirks and drawn by Harold H. Knerr for 37 years...
. Blondell's mother was Kathryn ("Katie") Cain, born April 13, 1884, in Brooklyn of Irish American parents. Her younger sister, Gloria
Gloria Blondell
Gloria Blondell is the younger sister of Joan Blondell. She was an actress and voice actor between 1938 and 1962. In 1935 she appeared in the Broadway production of Three Men on a Horse at the Playhouse in New York City. She is probably best remembered for her role as Honeybee Gillis in the 1950s...
, also an actress, was briefly married to film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
(the future producer of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film series) and bears a strong resemblance to her older sister, Joan. Blondell also had a brother, the namesake of her father and grandfather. Her cradle was a property trunk as her parents moved from place to place and she made her first appearance on stage at the age of four months when she was carried on in a cradle as the daughter of Peggy Astaire in The Greatest Love.
Joan had spent six years in Australia and seen much of the world by the time her family, who had been on tour, settled in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
when she was a teenager. Under the name Rosebud Blondell, she won the 1926 Miss Dallas pageant
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
and placed fourth for Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, in September of that same year. She attended what is now the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
, then a teacher's college, in Denton
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
, where her mother was a local stage actress, and she worked as a fashion model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, a circus hand, and a clerk in a New York store. Around 1927, she returned to New York, joined a stock company to become an actress, and performed on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. In 1930, she starred with James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
in Penny Arcade.
Career
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
saw it and bought the rights to the play for $20,000. He then sold the rights to Warner Brothers with the proviso that Blondell and Cagney be cast in the film version. Placed under contract by Warners, she moved to Hollywood where studio boss Jack Warner
Jack Warner
Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...
wanted her to change her name to "Inez Holmes", but Blondell refused. She began to appear in short subjects, and was named as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
in 1931.
Blondell was paired with James Cagney in such films as Sinners' Holiday (1930
1930 in film
-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) – the film version of Penny Arcade – and The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy is a 1931 American Pre-Code crime film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The film relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America...
(1931), and was one half of a gold-digging duo with Glenda Farrell
Glenda Farrell
-Career:Farrell came to Hollywood towards the end of the silent era. Farrell began her career with a theatrical company at the age of 7. She played Little Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin...
in nine films. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Blondell was one of the highest paid individuals in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Her stirring rendition of "Remember My Forgotten Man" in the Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
production of Gold Diggers of 1933
Gold Diggers of 1933
Gold Diggers of 1933 is a pre-code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin , staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley...
, in which she co-starred with Dick Powell
Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
and Ruby Keeler
Ruby Keeler
Ruby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, was an actress, singer, and dancer most famous for her on-screen coupling with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly 42nd Street . From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson...
, became an anthem for the frustrations of the unemployed and the government's failed economic policies. (Even though she was cast in many of the classic Warners musicals, she was not a singer, and in the Forgotten Man number, she mostly talked and acted her way through the song.) In 1937, she starred opposite Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
in The Perfect Specimen.
By the end of the decade, she had made nearly fifty films, despite having left Warner Bros. in 1939. Continuing to work regularly for the rest of her life, Blondell was well received in her later films, despite being relegated to character and supporting roles after the mid-1940s (she was billed below the title for the first time in 14 years in 1945's Adventure
Adventure (1945 film)
Adventure is a 1945 film, based on the novel The Anointed by Clyde Brion Davis. Clark Gable and Greer Garson star as a sailor and a librarian...
, which starred Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and Greer Garson), and received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
nomination for her role in The Blue Veil
The Blue Veil
The Blue Veil is a 1951 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The screenplay by Norman Corwin is based on a story by François Campaux, which was adapted for the French language film Le Voile bleu in 1942.-Plot:...
(1951). She was also featured prominently in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (film)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 film, the first film directed by Greek-American director Elia Kazan, starring James Dunn , Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner .The film is based on an American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith first published in 1943...
(1945); Nightmare Alley
Nightmare Alley (1947 film)
Nightmare Alley is a 20th Century Fox film noir starring Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell, and directed by Edmund Goulding. The movie rights for the 1946 novel of the same name, written by William Lindsay Gresham, were bought by Power, who planned on starring in the film...
(1947); The Opposite Sex
The Opposite Sex
The Opposite Sex is a 1956 musical film.It is a remake of the 1939 classic comedy The Women. Both films are based on Claire Boothe Luce's original play...
(1956), which paired her with ex-husband Dick Powell's wife, June Allyson; Desk Set
Desk Set
Desk Set is a 1957 American romantic comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn...
(1957); and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is a 1957 American satiric comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, Mickey Hargitay, and a cameo by Groucho Marx...
(1957). She received considerable acclaim for her performance as Lady Fingers in Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
's The Cincinnati Kid
The Cincinnati Kid
The Cincinnati Kid is a 1965 American drama film. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best...
(1965), garnering a Golden Globe nomination and National Board of Review win for Best Supporting Actress. John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
cast her as a cynical, aging playwright in his film Opening Night (1977). Blondell was widely seen in two films released not long before her death, Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
(1978) and the remake of The Champ
The Champ (1979 film)
The Champ is a 1979 remake, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, of the 1931 Academy Award-winning film of the same name which was directed by King Vidor. It stars Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, and Ricky Schroder. It is also the final film for actress Joan Blondell....
(1979) with Jon Voight
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
and Rick Schroder
Rick Schroder
Richard Bartlett "Rick" Schroder, Jr. is an American actor and film director.He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons...
.
Blondell also appeared in various television programs, including the episode "You're All Right, Ivy" of Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
's circus drama, The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)
The Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to April 28, 1964...
, which aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the 1963—1964 television season. Her co-stars in the segment were Joe E. Brown
Joe E. Brown (comedian)
Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
and Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
. In 1965, she was in the running to replace Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance
Vivian Roberta Jones was an American television and theater actress and singer. Often referred to as “TV’s most beloved second banana,” she is best known for her role as Ethel Mertz, sidekick to Lucille Ball on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy...
as Lucille Ball's sidekick on the hit CBS television comedy series The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
. Unfortunately, after filming her second guest appearance as 'Joan Brenner' (Lucy's new friend from California), Blondell walked off the set right after the episode had completed filming when Ball humiliated her by harshly criticizing her performance in front of the studio audience and technicians.
Family Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
. She also replaced Bea Benaderet
Bea Benaderet
Bea Benaderet was an American actress born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, California. She is best remembered for her wide variety of television work, which included a starring role in the 1960s television series Petticoat Junction and Green Acres as Shady Rest Hotel owner Kate...
, who was ill, for one episode on the CBS television series Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
. In that installment, Blondell played FloraBelle Campbell, a lady visitor to Hooterville
Hooterville
Hooterville was a fictional town that was the setting of the American television sitcoms Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.-Citizens:The town of Hooterville was founded in 1868 by Horace Hooter...
, who had once dated Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...
) and Sam Drucker (Frank Cady
Frank Cady
Frank Cady is an American actor best known for his recurring and popular role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three US television series during the 1960s: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies.-Career:...
). That same year, Blondell co-starred in the ABC western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series Here Come the Brides
Here Come the Brides
Here Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970...
, set in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
of the 19th century. Her co-stars included singer Bobby Sherman
Bobby Sherman
Robert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman, Jr. , is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s.He graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California...
and actor-singer David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
. For her performance as Lottie Hatfield, Blondell received two consecutive Emmy nominations for outstanding continued performance by an actress in a dramatic series.
In 1972, she had an ongoing supporting role in the NBC series Banyon
Banyon
Banyon is a detective series broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of its 1972-73 television schedule, though a standalone two-hour television movie was broadcast first in March 1971. The series was a Quinn Martin Production Banyon is a detective series broadcast in the United States by NBC...
as Peggy Revere, who operated a secretarial school in the same building as Banyon's detective agency. This was a 1930s period action drama starring Robert Forster
Robert Forster
Robert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
in the titular role. Her students worked in Banyon's office, providing fresh faces for the show weekly. The series was replaced mid-season.
Blondell has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
for her contribution to Motion Pictures, at 6309 Hollywood Boulevard. In December 2007, the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York City mounted a retrospective of Blondell's films in connection with a new biography by film professor Matthew Kennedy
Matthew Kennedy (author)
Matthew Kennedy is an American author, film historian, and anthropologist.-Biography:Kennedy was born in Redding, California, attended Shasta High School, and the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in theater arts in 1979...
and theatrical revival houses such as Film Forum
Film Forum
Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater located at 209 West Houston Street in New York City. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a US$19,000 annual budget. Karen Cooper became director in 1972 and under her leadership,...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
have also projected many of her films recently.
Personal life
Blondell was married three times, first to cinematographerCinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
George Barnes
George Barnes (cinematographer)
George S. Barnes, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer from the era of silent films to the early 1950s. Over the course of his career, he was nominated for an Academy Award eight times, including his work on The Devil Dancer with Gilda Gray and Clive Brook...
in a private wedding ceremony on 4 January 1933 at the First Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. They had one child — Norman S. Powell, who became an accomplished producer, director, and television executive — and divorced in 1936. On 19 September 1936, she married her second husband, actor, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and singer Dick Powell
Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
. They had a daughter, Ellen Powell, who became a studio hair stylist, and Powell adopted her son by her previous marriage. Blondell and Powell were divorced on 14 July 1944.
On 5 July 1947, Blondell married her third husband, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
Mike Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...
, whom she divorced in 1950. Her marriage to Todd was an emotional and financial disaster. She once accused him of holding her outside a hotel window by her ankles. He was also a heavy spender who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars gambling (high-stakes bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
was one of his weaknesses) and went through a controversial bankruptcy during their marriage. An often-repeated myth is that Mike Todd "dumped" Joan Blondell for Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
. In actuality, Blondell left Todd of her own accord years before he met Taylor.
She died of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, on Christmas Day 1979 at the age of 73 with her children and her sister at her bedside. She is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
She wrote a novel titled Center Door Fancy (New York: Delacorte Press, 1972), which was a thinly disguised autobiography.
Features
- The Office WifeThe Office WifeThe Office Wife is a 1930 American Pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, released by Warner Bros., and based on the novel of the same name by Faith Baldwin. It was the talkie debut for Joan Blondell who would become one of the major Warner Bros...
(19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) - Sinners' HolidaySinners' HolidaySinners' Holiday is a 1930 crime drama film starring Grant Withers, Evalyn Knapp, James Cagney , Lucille La Verne, and Joan Blondell. It is based on the play Penny Arcade by Marie Baumer. Both Cagney and Blondell reprised their Broadway roles...
(1930) - Other Men's WomenOther Men's WomenOther Men's Women is a 1931 American film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Maude Fulton. The film is about Bill , a railroad engineer, who falls in love with Lily , the wife of his co-worker Jack . When the two men fight over Lily, Jack is blinded. He dies in a violent storm saving...
(19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - MillieMillie (film)Millie is a Pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the novel by Donald Henderson Clarke, the movie stars Helen Twelvetrees, Lilyan Tashman, James Hall, and Joan Blondell.-Plot:...
(1931) - Illicit (1931)
- God's Gift to WomenGod's Gift to WomenGod's Gift to Women is a Pre-Code musical romantic comedy film released by Warner Brothers, and starring Frank Fay and Laura LaPlante....
(1931) - The Public EnemyThe Public EnemyThe Public Enemy is a 1931 American Pre-Code crime film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The film relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America...
(1931) - My Past (1931)
- Big Business Girl (1931)
- Night NurseNight Nurse (1931 film)Night Nurse is a 1931 Pre-Code, Prohibition-era, Warner Bros. crime drama and mystery film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell and Clark Gable. The film was considered risqué at the time of its release, particularly the scene where Stanwyck and...
(1931) - The Reckless Hour (1931)
- Blonde CrazyBlonde CrazyBlonde Crazy is a 1931 film by Roy Del Ruth, starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Louis Calhern, Ray Milland, and Guy Kibbee famous for Cagney's line, "That dirty, double-crossin' rat!"- Plot :...
(1931) - Union DepotUnion Depot (film)Union Depot is a Pre-Code film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Blondell, directed by Alfred E. Green for Warner Brothers, and based upon an unpublished play by Joe Laurie, Jr., Gene Fowler, and Douglas Durkin....
(19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - The Greeks Had a Word for ThemThe Greeks Had a Word for ThemThe Greeks Had a Word for Them , also known as Three Broadway Girls, is a Pre-Code comedy film directed by Lowell Sherman, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and released by United Artists. It stars Joan Blondell, Madge Evans, and Ina Claire and is based on the play The Greeks Had a Word for It by Zoe Akins...
(1932) - The Crowd Roars (1932)
- The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
- Make Me a Star (1932)
- Miss Pinkerton (1932)
- Big City BluesBig City Blues (1932 film)Big City Blues is a 1932 Warner Bros. drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The story is based on the play by Ward Morehouse and the film stars Joan Blondell.-Plot:...
(1932) - Three on a MatchThree on a MatchThree on a Match is a Warner Bros. drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis. The film also features Warren William, Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Bogart , Allen Jenkins and Edward Arnold.-Plot:Three friends from childhood, Mary , Ruth , and Vivian , meet...
(1932) - Central Park (1932)
- Lawyer ManLawyer ManLawyer Man is a 1933 Warner Bros. drama film directed by William Dieterle. The story is based on the novel by Max Trell and the film stars William Powell and Joan Blondell....
(19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Broadway Bad (1933)
- Blondie JohnsonBlondie JohnsonBlondie Johnson is a 1933 Warner Bros. drama film directed by Ray Enright. It stars Chester Morris and Joan Blondell.-Plot:Set during the Great Depression, Blondie Johnson quits her job after a co-worker sexually harasses her. She next is evicted with her sick mother, but cannot get relief. After...
(1933) - Gold Diggers of 1933Gold Diggers of 1933Gold Diggers of 1933 is a pre-code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin , staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley...
(1933) - Goodbye AgainGoodbye Again (1933 film)Goodbye Again is a 1933 comedy film made by First National Pictures/Warner Bros.. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced byHenry Blanke from a screenplay by Ben Markson, based on the play by George Haight and Allan Scott. Cinematography was by George Barnes and costume design by...
(1933) - Footlight ParadeFootlight Parade-Cast:*James Cagney as Chester Kent, creator of musical prologues*Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott, his secretary*Ruby Keeler as Bea Thorn, dancer turned secretary turned dancer*Dick Powell as Scott 'Scotty' Blair, juvenile lead, former protege of Mrs...
(1933) - Havana WidowsHavana WidowsHavana Widows is a 1933 Warner Bros. comedy film directed by Ray Enright.-Plot:Sadie and Mae are two friends who are in Havana to seduce wealthy older men. Their target is Deacon Jones, a self-appointed moralist who can't drink without getting drunk...
(1933) - Convention CityConvention CityConvention City is a 1933 pre-Code comedy film produced by First National Pictures and released by Warner Brothers, which has become notorious as a lost film. - Plot :...
(1933) - I've Got Your NumberI've Got Your NumberI've Got Your Number is a 1934 Warner Bros. Pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Ray Enright.-Plot:Switchboard operator Marie Lawson is conned by admirer Nicky , who tells her it is just a practical joke, into redirecting a phone call. However, Nicky uses what he learns to his own benefit,...
(19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - He Was Her Man (1934)
- Smarty (1934)
- DamesDamesDames is a 1934 Warner Bros. musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright with dance numbers created by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, and Hugh Herbert...
(1934) - Kansas City Princess (1934)
- Traveling Saleslady (19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - Broadway GondolierBroadway GondolierBroadway Gondolier is a musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film was released by Warner Bros, and featured Dick Powell, Joan Blondell and Adolphe Menjou.- Cast :* Dick Powell as Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli...
(1935) - We're in the Money (1935)
- Miss Pacific Fleet (1935)
- ColleenColleen (1936 film)Colleen is a 1936 Warner Bros. musical film directed by Alfred E. Green. It stars Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, and Joan Blondell.-Plot:Colleen is the manager of a dress shop named "The Ames Company", owned by Donald Ames. They try to keep Uncle Cedric from working, because he'll ruin the company....
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - Sons o' Guns (1936)
- Bullets or BallotsBullets or BallotsBullets or Ballots is a 1936 gangster film starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane and Humphrey Bogart. Robinson plays a police detective who infiltrates a crime gang.-Cast:*Edward G...
(1936) - Stage Struck (1936)
- Three Men on a HorseThree Men on a Horse (film)Three Men on a Horse is a 1936 comedy film adapted from the Broadway play of the same name written by George Abbott and John Cecil Holm. A mild-mannered greeting card poet has the uncanny ability to pick winners in horse races.-Plot:...
(1936) - Gold Diggers of 1937Gold Diggers of 1937Gold Diggers of 1937 is a 1936 Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley, and starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, who were married at the time, and Victor Moore. The film features songs by the teams of Harold Arlen and E.Y...
(1936) - The King and the Chorus Girl (19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Back in Circulation (1937)
- The Perfect SpecimenThe Perfect SpecimenThe Perfect Specimen is a 1937 film directed by Michael Curtiz. The film is based on a novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams....
(1937) - Stand-InStand-InStand-In is a movie about Hollywood and the film industry starring Leslie Howard, Joan Blondell, and Humphrey Bogart. It was directed by Tay Garnett, produced by Walter Wanger, and released by United Artists.- Plot :...
(1937) - There's Always a WomanThere's Always a WomanThere's Always a Woman is a 1938 comedy mystery film starring Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas as married detectives investigating a murder...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - Off the Record (19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - East Side of Heaven (1939)
- The Kid from Kokomo (1939)
- Good Girls Go to Paris (1939)
- The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939)
- Two Girls on BroadwayTwo Girls on BroadwayTwo Girls on Broadway is a 1940 musical film directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and starring Lana Turner and Joan Blondell. The film is a remake of The Broadway Melody .-Plot:...
(19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
) - I Want a DivorceI Want a DivorceI Want a Divorce is a 1940 Paramount film directed by Ralph Murphy. The screenplay was written by Frank Butler...
(1940) - Topper ReturnsTopper ReturnsTopper Returns is the third and final entry in the initial series of films inspired by the novels of Thorne Smith. It followed Topper and Topper Takes a Trip...
(19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - Model Wife (1941)
- Three Girls About TownThree Girls About TownThree Girls About Town is a 1941 Columbia comedy film directed by Leigh Jason. The story is written by Richard Carroll and stars Joan Blondell, Binnie Barnes and Janet Blair .-Plot:...
(1941) - Lady for a NightLady for a Night-Cast:* Joan Blondell - Jenny 'Jen' Blake Alderson* John Wayne - Jackson Morgan* Ray Middleton - Alan Alderson* Philip Merivale - Stephen Alderson* Blanche Yurka - Julia Anderson* Edith Barrett - Katherine Alderson* Leonid Kinskey - Boris, Jack's Bodyguard...
(19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - Cry 'Havoc'Cry 'Havoc'This article is about the 1943 motion picture. For the board game see Cry Havoc.Cry 'Havoc' is a 1943 American drama film, produced by MGM and directed by Richard Thorpe...
(19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - A Tree Grows In BrooklynA Tree Grows In Brooklyn (film)A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 film, the first film directed by Greek-American director Elia Kazan, starring James Dunn , Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner .The film is based on an American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith first published in 1943...
(19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) - Don Juan Quilligan (1945)
- AdventureAdventure (1945 film)Adventure is a 1945 film, based on the novel The Anointed by Clyde Brion Davis. Clark Gable and Greer Garson star as a sailor and a librarian...
(1945) - The Corpse Came C.O.D. (19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - Nightmare AlleyNightmare Alley (1947 film)Nightmare Alley is a 20th Century Fox film noir starring Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell, and directed by Edmund Goulding. The movie rights for the 1946 novel of the same name, written by William Lindsay Gresham, were bought by Power, who planned on starring in the film...
(1947) - Christmas EveChristmas Eve (film)Christmas Eve is a 1947 United Artists comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin. The movie is based on the story by Richard H. Landau and stars George Raft, George Brent and Randolph Scott...
(1947) - For Heaven's SakeFor Heaven's Sake (1950 film)For Heaven's Sake is a 1950 fantasy film starring Clifton Webb as an angel trying to save the marriage of a couple played by Joan Bennett and Robert Cummings...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - The Blue VeilThe Blue VeilThe Blue Veil is a 1951 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The screenplay by Norman Corwin is based on a story by François Campaux, which was adapted for the French language film Le Voile bleu in 1942.-Plot:...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - The Opposite SexThe Opposite SexThe Opposite Sex is a 1956 musical film.It is a remake of the 1939 classic comedy The Women. Both films are based on Claire Boothe Luce's original play...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - LizzieLizzie (film)Lizzie is a 1957 drama film directed by Hugo Haas. The movie is based on the novel The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson and stars Eleanor Parker, Richard Boone, and Joan Blondell. The popular songs "It's Not for Me to Say" and "Warm and Tender" were written for this film, and performed by Johnny...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - Desk SetDesk SetDesk Set is a 1957 American romantic comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn...
(1957) - This Could Be the NightThis Could Be the Night (film)This Could Be the Night is a 1957 MGM comedy-drama film directed by Robert Wise. The movie is based on the short stories by Cornelia Baird Gross and stars Jean Simmons and Paul Douglas. Actor Anthony Franciosa made his debut in this film.-Plot:...
(1957) - Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is a 1957 American satiric comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, Mickey Hargitay, and a cameo by Groucho Marx...
(1957) - Angel BabyAngel Baby (1961 film)Angel Baby is a 1961 film starring Salome Jens in the title role, Mercedes McCambridge, and George Hamilton. Burt Reynolds, in his motion picture debut, plays Hoke Adams...
(19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - Advance to the RearAdvance to the RearAdvance to the Rear is a light-hearted 1964 western comedy film set in the American Civil War. It stars Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens and Melvyn Douglas and is directed by George Marshall. The film is based on the 1957 novel Company of Cowards by Jack Schaefer, with the film having that title in...
(19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
) - The Cincinnati KidThe Cincinnati KidThe Cincinnati Kid is a 1965 American drama film. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best...
(19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Ride Beyond VengeanceRide Beyond VengeanceRide Beyond Vengeance is a 1966 western film. It stars Chuck Connors, Michael Rennie, Kathryn Hays and Bill Bixby.The film was directed by Bernard McEveety and produced by Andrew J. Fenady from the story "The Night of the Tiger" by Al Dewlen. Glenn Yarbrough sang the title song vocals. It was...
(19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - Waterhole#3 (19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) - Stay Away, JoeStay Away, JoeStay Away, Joe is a 1968 comedy-drama western film with musical interludes set in modern times and starring Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith and Joan Blondell. The film was based on the 1953 novel by Dan Cushman, a satirical farce...
(19681968 in filmThe year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
) - Kona CoastKona Coast (film)Kona Coast is a 1968 film directed by Lamont Johnson. It stars Richard Boone and Vera Miles.-Plot:Sam Moran is a Honolulu charter-boat captain who leads fishing expeditions in the tropical paradise. When his daughter is found murdered at the party of a wealthy young playboy, he seeks the truth...
(1968) - Big DaddyBig Daddy (1969 film)Big Daddy is a horror film directed, produced and written by Carl K. Hittleman. It was filmed in 1965 under the title Paradise Road, but not released until 1969.-Plot:...
(19691969 in filmThe year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
) - The PhynxThe PhynxThe Phynx is a 1970 comedy film directed by Lee H. Katzin about a rock and roll band named The Phynx and their mission in foreign affairs. The group is sent to the country of Albania to locate hostages.-Cast:*The Phynx... Themselves...
(19701970 in filmThe year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
) - Support Your Local Gunfighter!Support Your Local Gunfighter!Support Your Local Gunfighter is a 1971 comic western film starring James Garner, directed by Burt Kennedy, and written by James Edward Grant. The film shares many cast and crew members and plot elements with the earlier Support Your Local Sheriff! but is not a sequel...
(19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) - "The Dead Don't Die" (19751975 in filmThe year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
) - Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved HollywoodWon Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved HollywoodWon Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood is a 1976 film directed by Michael Winner and starring Madeline Kahn, Bruce Dern, Teri Garr, and Art Carney...
(19761976 in filmThe year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
) - The Baron (19771977 in filmThe year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
) - Opening Night (1977)
- GreaseGrease (film)Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
(19781978 in filmThe year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
) - The ChampThe Champ (1979 film)The Champ is a 1979 remake, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, of the 1931 Academy Award-winning film of the same name which was directed by King Vidor. It stars Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, and Ricky Schroder. It is also the final film for actress Joan Blondell....
(19791979 in filmThe year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
) - The GloveThe Glove (film)The Glove is a 1979 action film directed by cult actor Ross Hagen and starring John Saxon. Saxon plays a bounty hunter who's given a large sum to track down a vicious ex-convict who has been murdering former prison guards with a large leather-laced steel glove....
(1979) - The Woman InsideThe Woman InsideThe Woman Inside is a 1981 drama film made by 20th Century Fox, and directed by Joseph Van Winkle who co-wrote screenplay with Steve Fisher .-Cast:*Gloria Manon as Holly/Hollis*Dane Clark as Dr. Rosner*Joan Blondell as Aunt Coll...
(19811981 in film-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
)
Short subjects
- The Heart BreakerThe Heart BreakerThe Heart Breaker is a 1925 American short comedy film directed by Philadelphian director, Benjamin Stoloff.-Cast:*Judy King*Jerry Madden as Little boy*Sid Smith*Dagmar Oakland...
(1930) - Broadway's Like ThatBroadway's Like ThatBroadway's Like That is a 10-minute Vitaphone short film with Ruth Etting, Joan Blondell, Humphrey Bogart, and Mary Philips. Bogart and Philips were married at the time of this film.-Film preservation:...
(1930) - The Devil's Parade (1930)
- An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee (1930)
- How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones; No. 10: Trouble Shots (1931)
- Just Around the CornerJust Around the CornerJust Around the Corner is a 1938 American musical film directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay by Ethel Hill, Darrell Ware, and J. P. McEvoy was based on the novel Lucky Penny by Paul Girard Smith. The film focuses on the tribulations of little Penny Hale and her architect father after he is...
(1933) - Hollywood Newsreel (1934)
- Meet the Stars#2: Baby Stars (1941)
- The Cincinnati Kid Plays According to Hoyle (1965)
Further reading
- Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN #1-59393-320-7.
- Grabman, Sandra, Plain Beautiful: The Life of Peggy Ann Garner. BearManor Media, 2005. ISBN #1-59393-017-8.