Joan Davis
| Joan Davis | |
|---|---|
Davis as she appeared in I Married Joan.
|
|
| Born |
Josephine Davis June 29, 1912 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | May 22, 1961 (aged 48) Palm Springs, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress, vaudevillian |
| Years active | 1935–1955 |
| Spouse(s) | Si Wills (m. 1931–48) |
| Children | Beverly Wills (1933–1963) |
Joan Davis (June 29, 1912 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy I Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.
Born Josephine Davis in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she was the only child of LeRoy Davis and Nina Mae (née Sinks) Davis, who were married in St. Paul on November 23, 1910. Davis had been a performer since childhood. She appeared with her husband Si Wills in vaudeville.
Davis' first film was a short subject for Educational Pictures called Way Up Thar (1935), featuring a then-unknown Roy Rogers. Educational's distribution company, Twentieth Century-Fox, signed Davis for feature films. Tall and lanky, with a comically flat speaking voice, she became known as one of the few female physical clowns of her time. Perhaps best known for her co-starring turn with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hold That Ghost (1941), she had a reputation for flawless physical comedy.
Her pantomime sequence in Beautiful But Broke (1944) was a slapstick construction-site episode. She also featured in Tail Spin (1939) as a supporting actor, for the women's Bendix Air Race circuit. She co-starred with Eddie Cantor in two features, Show Business (1944) and If You Knew Susie (1948).
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