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• Jewison, Norman (1926) –

 

Director of The Cincinnati Kid (1965), in which Joan had a supporting role.

Norman Jewison: “She had a tough side to her which I loved. But she had a twinkle in her eye, and she could always make you laugh. Whether it was a kind of self-mocking thing she would do, it was very cute.” (Source: M. Kennedy, 2004)

 

• Jackson, Jill (1913 – 2010) –

 

Friend of Joan. Hollywood news reporter and columnist. Joan, Jackson, and Frances Marion lived in The Colonial House during the 1960s.

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Jill Jackson: “[Joan was] the most generous person [she] ever knew. Giving, loving, highly dramatic, volatile, mad quickly, and glad quickly.” (Source: Interview with M. Kennedy 2005).

 

• John Murray Anderson Drama School –

 

In 1923, Joan acted in a play at the Belmont Theatre in NY. Her small role in the play Tarnish by Gilbert Emery led to a scholarship offer from the John Murray Anderson Drama School. She had to decline because it would have only covered her tuition. She needed regular income from day jobs to support her mother, father, and siblings.

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Joan Blondell: “My ambition at that time was to make a buck so we could get the act together again and go again.” (Source: Films in Review. 1972)

 

• Jolson, Al (1886 - 1950) –

 

Purchased the rights to the play Penny Arcade and sold them to WB. He suggested James Cagney and John Blondell to Jack Warner after they’d been its original stars in New York. The movie was renamed and filmed as Sinners’ Holiday.

 

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• Kazan, Elia (1909 - 2003) –

 

Director of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), which starred Joan in her favorite part: Aunt Sissy.

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Joan Blondell: “There were no big meetings, or going into closets to figure out what your mood was. You just did it. He chose you because you were the right one for that role and then let you go.“ (Source: Interview with L. Maltin 1971)

 

• Kennedy, Matthew (1957) –

 

Joan's first real biographer. Writer, Anthropologist, and film historian.

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I highly recommend you get and read his book on Joan. It is very well-researched, a good read, and worth every penny. One of the best biographies I have ever read, and I read quite a lot!

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Joan Blondell: A Life between Takes
University Press of Mississippi, 2007

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He also wrote books on Marie Dressler and Edmund Goulding.

 

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• Last Will and Testament –

 

Joan decided to make her last will and testament in 1973. Her granddaughter Joanie would get half the estate (for her education and upbringing). The rest would be divided between her other three grandchildren.

 

This decision was not an example of playing favourites. Instead, it was based on who she believed would need the money most. Daughter Ellen was supposed to get whatever worldly possessions she wanted out of her mother’s estate.

 

• Leukemia –

 

Joan was diagnosed with Leukemia (cancer of the blood) in 1979. By the fall of 1979, she had to be hospitalized. She died on Christmas, December 25, 1979. Her children and sister Gloria were bedside at the time of death.

 

• Life Motto –

 

A Photoplay article from 1931 claimed that Joan's motto for life was: “Take it easy and laugh.”

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• Likes and Dislikes –

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Likes: Gin rummy, fresh cut flowers, motor boating, cider, pajamas, soda pop, swimming, tennis, hiking, hamburgers and chop suey.

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Dislikes: Planes, pickled beets, spiders, bridge (card game), diets, getting sand in her fingernails, and answering phones.

 

• Longevity as an Actress –

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Joan Blondell: “I don't know what the secret of longevity as an actress is. It's more than talent and beauty. Maybe it's the audience seeing itself in you. I reminded secretaries, waitresses, reporters, chorus girls, and now fading anybodies that a girl who didn't get the best of everything could eventually reach some of the goals in life.” (Source: Interview 1972)

 

• Lookout Mountain –

 

A collection of residential streets in the Santa Monica mountains above Hollywood. Joan and first husband George Barnes got a seven room, two-story house there, which they shared with Joan's parents.

 

 

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• Macy's Department Store –

 

Joan used to work there to help with the expenses while living in New York City with her family.

 

• Magazine Covers –

 

Joan was the cover girl on various magazines, including the following:

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10 Story Book, Cinelandia, El Suplemento, Film Pictorial, Film Weekly, Hollywood, Life, Look, Motion Picture, Movie Classic, Movie Mirror, Physical Culture, Picture Show, Playbill, PM's Sunday Picture News, Popular Song Hits, Radio Mirror, Radio and Television Mirror, Real Screen Fun, Sans Gene, Screen Book, Screen Guide, Screen Guide Photo-Parade, Screenland, Screen Life, Screen Play, Screen Romances, Shadoplay, Silver Screen, Song Hits, Sunday Mirror, Theater Arts, The Playgoer, True Story.

 

• Marion, Frances (1888- 1973) –

 

Friend of Joan since the 1930s. Journalist, author, and Academy Award-winning screen writer.

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Before Joan was going to marry Mike Todd, Marion wrote a letter to Joan, warning her not to marry Todd. Marion never sent the letter, only showing it to her friend many years later. The whole letter can be found in M. Kennedy's biography of Joan.

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Frances Marion: “[She was] impulsive, passionate, overgenerous; her life has been a kaleidoscopic shifting of incidents from comedy to drama. Rarely has she been able to stroll through peaceful meadows, though her sole purpose in living is to create an atmosphere of peace for those she loves.” ( Source: F. Marion - “Off With Their Heads!”)

 

• Marriage –

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Joan was married three times.

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1933 – 1935 to George Barnes.

1936 – 1944 to Dick Powell.

1947 – 1950 to Mike Todd.

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Joan Blondell: “Barnes provided my first real home. Powell was my security man and Todd was my passion. Each was totally different. If you could take a part of each one of them and put them into one man, you'd have one helluva husband.” (Source: Films in Review 1972)

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“Would I marry again? Oh my God! No! I don't think I can face any more pain. I don't mean to sound bitter about husbands. Out of the three I had, bits and pieces of each one made one perfect man. And most women don't have that.“ (Source Life: 1971)

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“Let's just say George was a great cinematographer, Dick was a wonderful singer and dancer, and Mike was a fine promoter who could talk anybody into anything. That's the way people remember them and―” a touch of bitter sadness‐in the voice―”I wouldn't want to change their images for a minute. They're all dead and gone now, anyway.” (Source: NY Times, 1972)

 

 

• “Matey” –

 

Family nickname Joan promoted as an alternative to “Grandma”.

 

• “Memphis Belle” –

 

A B-17F airplane which was named after her character in Lady For a Night (1941).

 

• “Miss Dallas” –

 

At 17, Joan entered by pretending she was Texas born and won the “Miss Dallas” beauty contest. She used the first prize of $2000 to support her family.

 

• Money –

 

Her first paycheck at Warner Brothers was for $350 a week.

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Joan Blondell: “I just sailed through things, took the scripts I was given, did what I was told. I couldn't afford to go on suspension – my family* needed what I could make. For five people you gotta make money, even though it's small money. I was most grateful to be making it.“ (Source: Films in Review, 1972)

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*Joan is referring to her parents and siblings.

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• “Most Glamorous Mother in Hollywood” –

 

In 1940, this title was bestowed upon her by the League of American Mothers.

 

• Mumps –

 

Childhood disease Joan caught in 1971. Ever the pro, she camouflaged her swollen face and taped a scheduled interview with David Frost.

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Joan Blondell: “I was never so grateful for anything in my life.* Maybe I got it from kissing dogs on the street. People sent me kid things, teddy bears, dolls; it was wonderful.” (Source: NY Times, 1972)

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*Joan is referring to how the disease gave her a break from appearing in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. She detested the play and was happy to not appear in it for a few days.