JOAN DAVIS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Joan Davis was born June 29th, 1907 in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was the daughter of a Minnesota-based train dispatcher. Her birth name was Madonna Josephine Davis and ever since a young child, she was involved in performing arts. At local summer camps beginning at age three, she loved to perform in front of an audience, dancing, singing and clowning around.
Davis married Si Willis in 1931 and together with her husband they would perform in vaudeville. The couple moved to Los Angeles and Joan tried to get involved in the film industry. She soon had the chance to work with director, Mack Sennett on the film, "Way up Thar" (1935) which was an educational two-reeler. This role was followed by her first feature, "Millions in the Air" (1935). Davis was getting the reputation as a tall slender actress with a flat speaking voice. She was one of the few female physical clowns of her time.
Joan and her husband then decided to go back to doing vaudeville for a while until 20th Century Fox approached Davis and asked her to do some film work for them. She was cast in the following films, "Thin Ice" (1937), "Kentucky Moonshine" (1938) and "Tail Spin" (1929). Joan Davis is probably best known for her co star role in, "Hold That Ghost" (1941).
Davis went on to do some film work with Eddie Cantor in, "Show Business" (1944) and "If You Knew Susie" (1948).
Davis also did some radio work, becoming a regular on Rudy Vallee's radio program. When he left to join the Coast Guard in 1943, Davis became the host of his show. She was promoted to star of her own top-rated radio series for Sealtest dairy products. She did one more film with Columbia, "Harem Girl" (1952) before starting her own production company producing the popular television sitcom, "I Married Joan" (1952-1955) on NBC. Davis played the manic wife of community judge played by Jim Backus.
Sadly, right after Joan Davis completed a pilot film for a new television series, she died suddenly of an unexpected heart attack on May 22nd, 1961 in Palm Springs, California. Davis was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery mausoleum in Culver City, California. Two years later on October 24th, 1963, Davis's mother, daughter and grandchildren were all killed in a house fire in Palm Springs, California.
Joan Davis was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the Motion Picture Industry. Between 1981 and 1982, the CBN cable network began re running episodes of "I Married Joan" which again gained decent popularity.
Filmography
1935 Way Up Thar
1935 Millions in the Air
1936 Bunker Bean
1937 The Holy Terror
1937 On the Avenue
1937 Time Out for Romance
1937 The Great Hospital Mystery
1937 Angel's Holiday
1937 Sing and Be Happy
1937 You Can't Have Everything
1937 Wake Up and Live
1937 Thin Ice
1937 Life Begins in College
1937 Love and Hisses
1938 Sally, Irene and Mary
1938 Josette
1938 My Lucky Star
1938 Hold That Co-ed
1938 Just Around the Corner
1939 Tail Spin
1939 Skinny the Moocher
1939 Too Busy to Work
1939 Day-Time Wife
1940 Free, Blonde and 21
1940 Sailor's Lady
1940 Manhattan Heartbeat
1941 For Beauty's Sake
1941 Hold That Ghost
1941 Sun Valley Serenade
1941 Two Latins from Manhattan
1942 Yokel Boy
1942 Sweetheart of the Fleet
1943 He's My Guy
1943 Two Señoritas from Chicago
1943 Around the World
1944 Beautiful But Broke
1944 Show Business
1944 Kansas City Kitty
1944 She Gets Her Man
1944 George White's Scandals
1946 She Wrote the Book
1948 If You Knew Susie
1950 The Traveling Saleswoman
1950 Love That Brute
1951 The Groom Wore Spurs
1952 Harem Girl
1952–1955 I Married Joan
