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With James Cagney on set.

With her cat.

Center Door Fancy

With Ellen and Norman.

With Norman and Ellen in 1944.

The Colonial House.

At home.

Convention City

Joan and Bette for Three On a Match.

Joan visiting Bette on set.

With her german shepard.

With her pekinese.

With her dachshunds.

With Bridey and her pups.

With one of her pugs.

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Cagney, James (1899 - 1986) –

Leading man in many of Joan's movies. In 1929, they first appeared together on stage in the plays Maggie the Magnificent and Penny Arcade. Both closed after three weeks. The latter’s rights were sold to WB who hired both Cagney and Joan which was the beginning of their life long career.

They were good friends but never more. His nickname for her was 'grandma'. When Joan died, Cagney couldn't attend her funeral due to his own sickness.

Joan Blondell: “Jimmy once said I was the only one of his leading ladies he was ever in love with. And it's always been the same with me. Not romantically, mind you. But as pals, best buds. And we still talk on the phone all the time. He's still interested in what I'm doing.” (Source: Interview by J. Bawden, 1972)

James Cagney: “[She's] a great taker of direction. She could have done many better things than the roles they gave her. If she hadn’t looked like a tootsie she'd have made a great Lady Macbeth.” (Source: Munter)

Their seven movies: Sinners' Holiday (1930), Other Men's Women (1931), Public Enemy (1931), Blonde Crazy (1931), The Crowd Roars (1932), Footlights Parade (1933), He Was Her Man (1934)

Cancer – See Leukemia

Cats –

In 1972, Joan got a cat named 'Shadow'. This green-eyed orange tabby was a gift from her colleagues in the play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. It was love at first sight.

When 'Shadow' died in 1976, her daughter Ellen and granddaughter Joanie gave her two cats. The first was 'Flakey', a grey, “fat” tabby. The other was 'OuiOui', a skinny Siamese.

Center Door Fancy –

Fictional novel inspired by Joan’s life and written by her in 1972. Like a stealth autobiography. While Joan’s name and those of her friends and family have been changed to fictional ones, the real-life analogues of celebrities should be obvious to their fans. Critics didn't like it much, but it sold well. Joan was proud of it.

Joan Blondell: “It's about five people who live very difficult lives and come out okay; I have 480 typed pages, and I think some of it isn't bad at all.“ (Source: Life 1971)

If you're a fan and would like to know more about Joan, go and get a copy of this book. It’s quite clear who's who in it. Although a novel, you can interpret it as a biography about her. Still, one must keep in mind that it is technically fiction, so take everything with a grain of salt.

It is a joyous read. Its only negative side is that she spent a lot of pages on her father’s early life as well her childhood/youth, ending with the divorce from Mike Todd (aka “Jeff Flynn” in the book). Personally, I would have enjoyed more about her life in Hollywood. I figure writing about Todd and the end of their marriage was very painful, and that’s why the story ends at that point in her life.

Character –

Charles Higham (who interviewed her): “Of all the stars I have interviewed, I have liked Joan Blondell the best. She is unique in my experience in being an actress who is devoid of ego, self-congratulation and self-pity, and would not dream of quoting a favorable review of herself. She is down-to-earth and human and real.“ (Source: Killer Tomatoes - Fifteen Tough Film Dames, 2004)

Children –

Joan had two children.

Son Norman Scott Powell (1934 - ) with George Barnes.

Daughter Ellen Powell (1938 - ) with Dick Powell.

Colman, Ronald (1891 - 1958) –

Friend of Joan's first husband George Barnes.

Joan Blondell: “I had been one of these kid fans of Ronald Colman. To me, Ronnie's home was the most homey I'd seen. The evenings were fabulous there. He and his friends were so distinguished, and he had divine humor. We'd all tell stories, and sometimes he'd get up and act them out while we'd get all be sitting cross legged on the floor and couch. Those were beautiful, wonderful evenings.” (Source: Parish and Stanke 'The Leading Ladies', 1977)

Colonial House, The –

Apartment building in Los Angeles. Other residents who used to live there include: Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Cary Grant and Eddie Cantor.

Joan moved to this building after leaving New York City in 1960. Friends Frances Marion, Jill Jackson, and others would join her there every afternoon at five for cocktails.

Cooking –

Beginning with her first marriage to George Barnes in 1932 Joan started to cook and enjoy it all her life.

Joan Blondell: “It's great what love can do. I – who couldn't boil water, why I've learned to cook and I love it.” (Source: Modern Screen, 1932)

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Davies, Marion (1897 – 1961) –

If we can trust Joan's book Center Door Fancy, then Marion Davies threatened her on the phone. Dick Powell was formerly Marion’s lover. When Powell and Blondell first started dating, Davies said their son would be kidnapped if they got married. According to the book, Marion was obviously drunk.

Joan Blondell: “The phone rang. I answered it, and the voice said, 'If you marry Jim Wilson [aka Dick Powell], your son will be kidnapped, and you will never see him again.'” (Source: J. Blondell: Stage Door Fancy)

Davis, Bette (1908 – 1989) –

Co-star in Three On a Match. Good friend of Joan ever since. Joan respected her for standing up to WB to get better parts and supported her Oscar nomination tremendously. She started the write-in ballot campaign to get Bette Davis a best actress Academy Award nomination for Of Human Bondage (1934) in 1935.

When Joan was nominated for an Academy Award in 1952, Bette Davis attended the ceremony to accept the Oscar on her behalf if she won. Joan could not attend because she was on tour with Come Back Little Sheba.

Joan Blondell: “I never fought for better roles, and became known as 'one-take Blondell'. But I admire Bette Davis for fighting. She fought every inch of the way.”

“I'm so tickled that Bette Davis is getting that award from the American Film Institute; I just love that feisty gal – she fought her way up, a real Miss Gutsy.” (Source: NY Times 1977)

Bette Davis: “Joan Blondell – Rosebud from my John Murray Anderson days in New York – turned into a hellcat. [Referring to the Academy Award write-in ballot campaign] I think she got on the telephone to everyone she had ever met in Hollywood.” (Source: W. Stine – “I'd Love to Kiss You-- ": Conversations with Bette Davis, 1990)

"A wonderful, wonderful person. No pretensions, and she was unique in that she never stabbed anyone in the back. She really was too nice for her own good. She had been a star, but she just couldn't fight the men at the top. [shakes head ruefully] She didn't want to fight. She felt her peace of mind was more important that her career." (Source: B. Hadleigh "Bette Davis Speaks", 1996)

In 1934, Joan made a cake for Bette's birthday. For her cake recipe, click here.

Denton, Texas –

Town where the Blondells stayed in 1924 for a season and opened up a dress shop: Blondell's Collegiate Store. Joan enrolled at North Texas State Teacher's College to become a teacher. She flunked algebra and wasn't doing well in English or Science. Again, she gravitated toward theatre.

Denton was also the place where Joan enrolled for the Miss Dallas beauty contest.

Dogs –

Joan loved dogs and always had one or more during almost all her life. She also gave annually to the Hollywood Junior League and Tailwaggers, a local charity for stray dogs.

Dachshund ‘Thing’ and Boston bull-terrier ‘Abadaba’ lived with her and George Barnes in 1933.

In 1934, German shepherd 'Teckie' and Pekinese 'Cupcake' and 'Popover' lived with the Barnes'.

According to Ellen Powell, Mike Todd poisoned ‘Sandy’, a Collie that belonged to Joan’s son Norman. Todd claimed that the dog attacked him.

Black Boxer ‘Booberboy of Yankee Place’ was given to Norman as a replacement.

'Lucky' was a Shetland sheepdog they owned in 1951.

'Bridey' and 'Fresh' were two pugs who lived with Joan for more than a decade. When they both died in 1970, Joan was devastated.

Joan Blondell: “Hell, they were with me so long, you know. One was 19, one 17, and that's a hell of a lot of life. On New Year's Eve, I took about as many sleeping pills as I could safely take. I just wanted to have that year over and done with.“ (Source: Life 1971)

Jill Jackson: “Her life was those two ugly dogs! Those damn dogs only agreed to evacuate their bowels on the lawn of the nearby Christian Science church.” (Source: M. Kennedy 2005).

Drugs –

Joan tried marijuana at a 1960s party once. The effect wasn't an enjoyable one.

Joan Blondell: “I want to tell you I haven't been within blocks of marijuana since.” (Source: NY Post, 1972)

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“Ed Blondell and Company” –

When Ed Blondell married his wife Kathryn Cain, his vaudeville act became a double act name “Ed Blondell and Company” touring Europe, Australia, and the USA. Their vaudeville skit The Lost Boy was revamped in 1916 to the family act The Best Boy, and again in 1917 to The Boy from Home).

Joan's first stage appearance was in their sketch The Greatest Love. She was 3 months old.

She later joined the cast officially during a tour in Sydney/Australia at age 3.

Emmy Award –

Received an Emmy nomination for her work in the TV series Here Come the Brides (1968).

Exhaustion –

Ever since she was hired by WB, Joan was packed with work. She made 10 movies each in 1931 and 1932. Sometimes even working on 4 movies a the same time, she suffered from exhaustion and checked into the hospital, where she slept for 48 hours.

After her hospital stay, she “only” made 7 movies in 1933.

When Dick Powell left their home at the end of 1943, she again suffered from nervous exhaustion.

Blondell Crazy - An Encyclopedia

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A TRIBUTE TO

JOAN BLONDELL

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A TRIBUTE TO

JOAN BLONDELL

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