Joan Blondell
Born Rose Joan Blondell on August 30, 1906, the diminutive, blonde hair, blue-eyed actress would appear in more than 100 movies and television programs during her lifetime. She was born in New York City to a vaudeville family. Her father, Eddie Joan Blondell was a Katzenjammer Kid. He and Joan’s mother, Katie, also had Gloria and Eddie Jr. Joan’s brother and sister. Gloria Blondell also went on to become an actress.
After traveling all over the world, Joan’s family finally settled in Dallas, Texas, where Joan won the 1926 Miss Dallas beauty pageant under the name Rosebud Blondell. She went on to place fourth in the Miss America pageant. Joan went to college and did some work as a model, but she eventually moved to New York City in 1927 to begin her career as an actress.
Early on, Joan secured roles on Broadway, one of which was Penny Arcade with James Cagney. The play was short-lived, but was seen by Al Jolson, who bought the play and sold it to Warner Brothers with the condition that Joan and James star in the movie version. Now under contract with Warner Brothers, Blondell moved to Hollywood. She embodied the stereotype of a Depression era gold-digger – with a wisecracking personality and bleached-blonde hair and became a quick favorite with audiences. Two of her most memorable films of the 1930's were The Gold Digger of 1933 and The Gold Digger of 1937. She starred in both Warner Brother films along side future husband Dick Powell.
On the radio, Joan was cast in Hollywood Playhouse, which aired on NBC from 1937 to 1940. Hollywood Playhouse was a drama created especially to plummet young actor, Tyrone Power into stardom. Joan was also featured on The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show with Don Ameche as a young couple that meets when they both sit down on the same park bench. For a time, Joan Blondell was one of the highest paid persons in the entire United States.
Joan met and married George Barnes, a well-known cinematographer in 1933. They had one child, Norman, who later became a famous producer, director and television executive. George and Joan divorced in 1936 – and later that year Joan married Dick Powell. They had a daughter, Ellen, who later became a hair stylist for the studio. Powell adopted her son, Norman, from her previous marriage, but she and Powell were divorced in 1944.
Joan and Dick made their first radio appearance together after becoming Mr & Mrs Powell in Lux Radio Theater's presentation of The Gold Diggers on 21st December 1936. In 1941 Joan and Dick starred together in the Lux Radio Theater presentation of Model Wife as well as the 1941 film version. Joan Blondell starred in other episodes of Lux radio Theater including She Loves Me Not in 1937, Perfect Specimen in 1939 (also the 1937 film directed by Michael Curtiz) and This Gun For Hire in 1943. She also starred in Theater of Romance 1946 broadcast Next Time We Love.
Joan married her third husband, producer Mike Todd, in 1947 and divorced him in 1950 after a tumultuous relationship. Todd lost thousands of dollars while gambling and filed for bankruptcy during their marriage. At the time, the rumors were rampant that Todd left Joan for Elizabeth Taylor, but Joan actually left Todd two years before he even met Taylor.
Joan Blondell passed away at 73 years of age on Christmas Day – December 25, 1979 – after a battle with leukaemia in Santa Monica, California. Her children and sister Gloria were with her when she died. Her interment is in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
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