Rose Joan Blondell (August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career. Establishing herself as a sexy wisecracking blonde, she was a pre-Code staple of Warner Brothers and appeared in more than 100 movies and television productions. She was most active in films during the 1930s, and during this time she co-starred with Glenda Farrell in nine films, in which the duo portrayed gold-diggers. Blondell continued acting for the rest of her life, often in small character roles or supporting television roles. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Blue Veil (1951).Blondell was seen in featured roles in two films released shortly before her death from leukemia, Grease (1978) and the remake of The Champ (1979).
| Full Name | Joan Blondell |
| Net Worth | $100,000 |
| Date Of Birth | August 30, 1906 |
| Died | December 25, 1979, Santa Monica, California, United States |
| Place Of Birth | New York City, New York, USA |
| Height | 1.57 m |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Profession | Actor, Singer, Author, Fashion Model |
| Education | University of North Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Mike Todd, Dick Powell, George Barnes |
| Children | Ellen Powell, Norman Powell |
| Parents | Eddie Joan Blondell, Jr., Kathryn Cain |
| Siblings | Gloria Blondell, Eddie Joan Blondell III |
| Nicknames | Joan Blondell, Blondell, Joan |
| IMDB |
| Nominations | Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play |
| Movies | Grease, Blonde Crazy, Gold Diggers of 1933, The Public Enemy, Footlight Parade, Three on a Match, Dames, Night Nurse, The Cincinnati Kid, Nightmare Alley, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Desk Set, The Blue Veil, The Crowd Roars, Topper Returns, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Other Men's Women, Blondie J... |
| TV Shows | Banyon, Here Come the Brides, Twenty Questions |
| Star Sign | Virgo |
| # | Quote |
|---|
| 1 | [on her husbands] [George] Barnes provided my first real home, [Dick] Powell was my security man, and [Michael] Todd was my passion. But I loved them all. |
| 2 | [on Bette Davis] When Bette's good, she's real good. When she's bad, she's awful. But at least, she's not afraid to bat an eyelash. |
| 3 | [on Clark Gable] It was the joy of your life to know Clark Gable. He was everything good you could think of. He had delicious humor, he had great compassion, he was always a fine old teddy bear. In no way was he conscious of his good looks, as were most other men in pictures at that time. Clark was very unactorly. |
| 4 | [on director Edmund Goulding] He did something that drove actors crazy. He'd get out there and act out everybody's role for them -- even the women! And we were supposed to imitate him. We wanted to give our own interpretations. |
| 5 | [on Jean Harlow] You know, she never wore underclothes and she was walking past the guys on The Public Enemy (1931) one day and James Cagney said, "How do you hold those things up?" and she said, "I ice them." And she was very serious. |
| 6 | [on Leslie Howard] Leslie Howard was a darling flirt. He'd be caressing your eyes and have his hand on someone else's leg at the same time. He was adorable. He was a little devil and just wanted his hands on every woman around. He just loved ladies. |
| 7 | [on Al Jolson] The screen didn't give him enough space to project in. I remember as a kid seeing him on stage and I think to this day there have been two great performers in the world: one is Jolson and the other is Judy Garland. They had some kind of magic in front of people that no one could surpass -- they were sheer, magnificent talent beyond belief. |
| 8 | In the 20s, you were a face. And that was enough. In the '30s, you also had to be a voice. And your voice had to match your face, if you can imagine that. Jimmy Cagney and Eddie Robinson had voices that were as important as the characters they played. You knew what you were getting even before you paid for the ticket. |
| 9 | There's a very fine line between underacting and not acting at all. And not acting is what a lot of actors are guilty of. It amazes me how some of these little numbers with dreamy looks and a dead pan are getting away wit it. I'd hate to see them on stage with a dog act. |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Became pregnant by 1st husband George Barnes out of wedlock in the summer of 1932 and then again in the summer of 1933. On both occasions she had abortions. |
| 2 | Aunt of makeup artist Kathryn Blondell. |
| 3 | Felt that her best performance was as Aunt Sissy in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). |
| 4 | Like her second husband Dick Powell and acquaintance June Allyson, she was a lifelong staunch supporter of the Republican party. |
| 5 | Her son Norman Scott was born in the breech position, with the cord wrapped around his neck. Her labor was complicated, because of a fractured coccyx, and lasted twenty hours. |
| 6 | Her son Norman Scott was named after Claudette Colbert's first husband, actor-director Norman Foster. |
| 7 | In 1927, while closing the library she worked at, she was raped by a police officer. He told her he would kill her if she told anyone. She kept her silence for decades, until finally telling her grown daughter. She went public with this in her memoirs. |
| 8 | Her granddaughter Stephanie Powell is married to Sean Murphy, owner of a surf travel company. |
| 9 | Her grandson Scott Powell has a stepson, David, and two grandchildren, Zander and Dakota. |
| 10 | Had three grandchildren: Joan Ellen Powell, Scott Powell and Stephanie Powell. |
| 11 | Her daughter Ellen Powell had a long battle with cocaine that she overcame in 1984. |
| 12 | Following her death, she was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. |
| 13 | She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6311 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960. |
| 14 | Profiled in "Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames" by Ray Hagen and Laura Wagner (McFarland, 2004). |
| 15 | June Allyson was the stepmother of her daughter Ellen Powell after Allyson married Blondell's ex-husband Dick Powell. |
| 16 | She playfully called her friend Bette Davis's four ex-husbands "The Four Skins" since they were all gentiles. |
| 17 | Her marriage to theatrical impresario Michael Todd was an emotional and financial disaster. Todd was a heavy spender who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars gambling (high-stakes bridge was one of his weaknesses) and went through a controversial bankruptcy during their marriage. While continuing to live the high-life on a huge estate in New York's Westchester County, the irresponsible Todd ran through Blondell's savings. |
| 18 | On the British sitcom Dad's Army (1968), Private Pike has a crush on her and has dozens of pictures of her on his bedroom walls. |
| 19 | Attended the Professional Children's School in New York City. |
| 20 | According to the July 24, 1944, issue of Time magazine, Blondell divorced Dick Powell on the grounds of cruelty alleging that "when she objected to the incessant coming and going of guests, Powell crooned: 'If you don't like it, you can get the hell out.'". |
| 21 | Was nominated for Broadway's 1958 Tony Award as best supporting or featured actress (dramatic) for "The Rope Dancers". |
| 22 | Made six movies with James Cagney at Warner Brothers - more than any other individual actress. Cagney said that the only woman he loved other than his wife was Blondell. |
| 23 | Mother of Norman S. Powell from her marriage to George Barnes. He was adopted by Dick Powell in February 1938. Mother of Ellen Powell from her marriage to Dick Powell. |
| 24 | Older sister of actress Gloria Blondell. |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The Woman Inside | 1981 | Aunt Coll |
| The Glove | 1979 | Mrs. Fitzgerald |
| The Rebels | 1979 | TV Movie | Mrs. Brumple |
| Fantasy Island | 1979 | TV Series | Naomi Gittings |
| The Champ | 1979 | Dolly Kenyon |
| $weepstake$ | 1979 | TV Series | Mme. Grimaldi |
| The Love Boat | 1978 | TV Series | Ramona Bevans |
| Battered | 1978 | TV Movie | Edna Thompson |
| Grease | 1978 | Vi |
| Opening Night | 1977 | Sarah Goode |
| The Baron | 1977 |
| Starsky and Hutch | 1976 | TV Series | Mrs. Pruitt |
| Death at Love House | 1976 | TV Movie | Marcella Geffenhart |
| Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood | 1976 | Landlady |
| Switch | 1976 | TV Series | Mrs. Lear |
| Police Story | 1975 | TV Series | Doreen |
| Winner Take All | 1975 | TV Movie | Beverly Craig |
| The Dead Don't Die | 1975 | TV Movie | Levenia |
| Bobby Parker and Company | 1974 | TV Movie | His Mother |
| The Snoop Sisters | 1974 | TV Series | Madame Mimi |
| The New Dick Van Dyke Show | 1973 | TV Series | Aunt Louise |
| Medical Center | 1973 | TV Series | Doris |
| The Rookies | 1973 | TV Series | Mrs. Darrin |
| Love, American Style | 1971-1973 | TV Series segment "Love and the Swinging Surgeon" / segment "Love and the Lovesick Sailor" - Love and the Footlight Fiancee/Love and the Plane Fantasy/Love and the Swinging Surgeon/Love and the Teller's Tale 1973 ... segment "Love and the Swinging Surgeon" |
| Banyon | 1972 | TV Series | Peggy Revere |
| McCloud | 1971 | TV Series | Ernestine White |
| Support Your Local Gunfighter | 1971 | Jenny |
| The Name of the Game | 1970 | TV Series | Miss Wall |
| The Phynx | 1970 | Ruby |
| Here Come the Brides | 1968-1970 | TV Series | Lottie Hatfield |
| Big Daddy | 1969 |
| The Outsider | 1968 | TV Series | Sadie Burch |
| Kona Coast | 1968 | Kittibelle Lightfoot |
| That Girl | 1968 | TV Series | Marjorie Hobart |
| Stay Away, Joe | 1968 | Glenda Callahan |
| Petticoat Junction | 1968 | TV Series | Florabelle Campbell |
| Mrs. Thursday | 1967 | TV Movie |
| The Guns of Will Sonnett | 1967 | TV Series | Miss Lottie |
| Family Affair | 1967 | TV Series | Laura London |
| Waterhole #3 | 1967 | Lavinia |
| Winchester 73 | 1967 | TV Movie | Larouge |
| The Spy in the Green Hat | 1967 | Mrs. 'Fingers' Stilletto |
| The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | 1967 | TV Series | Madame |
| Ace of the Mounties | 1966 | TV Movie | His girlfriend |
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | 1966 | TV Series | Mrs. Fingers Stilletto |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | 1966 | TV Series | Mrs. Melvin Freebie |
| And Baby Makes Three | 1966 | TV Movie | Joan Terry |
| Ride Beyond Vengeance | 1966 | Mrs. Lavender |
| Slattery's People | 1965 | TV Series | Mrs. Lewis |
| My Three Sons | 1965 | TV Series | Harriet Blanchard |
| The Lucy Show | 1965 | TV Series | Joan Brenner |
| The Cincinnati Kid | 1965 | Lady Fingers |
| Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | 1965 | TV Series | Rose Kelsey |
| Vacation Playhouse | 1964 | TV Series | Miss Zilke |
| Advance to the Rear | 1964 | Easy Jenny |
| Dr. Kildare | 1964 | TV Series | Dolly Marlowe |
| Bonanza | 1964 | TV Series | Lillian Manfred |
| Burke's Law | 1963-1964 | TV Series | Candy Sturdevant / Ethel Kronkeit |
| The Greatest Show on Earth | 1964 | TV Series | T.T. Hill |
| The Twilight Zone | 1964 | TV Series | Phyllis Britt |
| Wagon Train | 1963 | TV Series | Ma Bleecker |
| The Virginian | 1963 | TV Series | Rosanna Dobie |
| The Real McCoys | 1963 | TV Series | Aunt Win |
| Death Valley Days | 1963 | TV Series | Lucy Tutaine |
| The Dick Powell Theatre | 1962 | TV Series | Emily Komack |
| Angel Baby | 1961 | Mollie Hays |
| The Barbara Stanwyck Show | 1961 | TV Series | Helene Terry |
| The Untouchables | 1961 | TV Series | Hannah 'Lucy' Wagnall |
| The Witness | 1961 | TV Series | Ma Barker |
| Adventures in Paradise | 1960 | TV Series | Millicent Brass |
| Lux Playhouse | 1959 | TV Series |
| Playhouse 90 | 1957-1959 | TV Series | Mrs. Patrick / Helen Green |
| Studio One in Hollywood | 1958 | TV Series | Ruth Breen |
| Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? | 1957 | Violet |
| Desk Set | 1957 | Peg Costello |
| This Could Be the Night | 1957 | Crystal St. Clair |
| Lizzie | 1957 | Aunt Morgan James |
| The Opposite Sex | 1956 | Edith Potter |
| The United States Steel Hour | 1955 | TV Series | Ellen |
| Playwrights '56 | 1955 | TV Series | Mother |
| General Electric Theater | 1955 | TV Series | Joan Preston |
| Shower of Stars | 1955 | TV Series |
| Fireside Theatre | 1955 | TV Series |
| Lux Video Theatre | 1953 | TV Series | May |
| Suspense | 1953 | TV Series | Clara |
| Schlitz Playhouse | 1952 | TV Series | Calamity Jane |
| The Blue Veil | 1951 | Annie Rawlins |
| Nash Airflyte Theatre | 1951 | TV Series |
| For Heaven's Sake | 1950 | Daphne Peters |
| Christmas Eve | 1947 | Ann Nelson |
| Nightmare Alley | 1947 | Zeena Krumbein |
| The Corpse Came C.O.D. | 1947 | Rosemary Durant |
| Adventure | 1945 | Helen Melohn |
| Don Juan Quilligan | 1945 | Marjorie Mossrock |
| A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | 1945 | Aunt Sissy |
| Cry 'Havoc' | 1943 | Grace |
| Lady for a Night | 1942 | Jenny Blake |
| Three Girls About Town | 1941 | Hope Banner |
| Model Wife | 1941 | Joan Keating Chambers |
| Topper Returns | 1941 | Gail Richards |
| I Want a Divorce | 1940 | Geraldine 'Jerry' Brokaw |
| Two Girls on Broadway | 1940 | Molly Mahoney |
| The Amazing Mr. Williams | 1939 | Maxine Carroll |
| Good Girls Go to Paris | 1939 | Jenny Swanson |
| The Kid from Kokomo | 1939 | Doris Harvey |
| East Side of Heaven | 1939 | Mary Wilson |
| Off the Record | 1939 | Jane Morgan |
| There's Always a Woman | 1938 | Sally Reardon |
| Stand-In | 1937 | Lester Plum |
| The Perfect Specimen | 1937 | Mona Carter |
| Back in Circulation | 1937 | 'Timmy' Blake |
| The King and the Chorus Girl | 1937 | Miss Dorothy Ellis |
| Gold Diggers of 1937 | 1936 | Norma Perry |
| Three Men on a Horse | 1936 | Mabel |
| Stage Struck | 1936 | Peggy Revere |
| Bullets or Ballots | 1936 | Lee Morgan |
| Sons o' Guns | 1936 | Yvonne |
| Colleen | 1936 | Minnie Hawkins |
| Miss Pacific Fleet | 1935 | Gloria Fay |
| We're in the Money | 1935 | Ginger Stewart |
| Broadway Gondolier | 1935 | Alice Hughes |
| Traveling Saleslady | 1935 | Angela Twitchell |
| Kansas City Princess | 1934 | Rosie Sturges |
| Dames | 1934 | Mabel |
| Smarty | 1934 | Vicki |
| He Was Her Man | 1934 | Rose Lawrence |
| I've Got Your Number | 1934 | Marie Lawson |
| Convention City | 1933 | Nancy Lorraine |
| Havana Widows | 1933 | Mae Knight |
| Footlight Parade | 1933 | Nan Prescott |
| Goodbye Again | 1933 | Anne Rogers |
| Gold Diggers of 1933 | 1933 | Carol King |
| Blondie Johnson | 1933 | Blondie Johnson |
| Broadway Bad | 1933 | Tony Landers |
| Just Around the Corner | 1933 | Short | Mrs. Graham |
| Lawyer Man | 1932 | Olga Michaels |
| Central Park | 1932 | Dot |
| Three on a Match | 1932 | Mary Keaton |
| Big City Blues | 1932 | Vida Fleet |
| Miss Pinkerton | 1932 | Nurse Adams, aka Miss Pinkerton |
| Make Me a Star | 1932 | 'Flips' Montague |
| The Famous Ferguson Case | 1932 | Maizie Dickson |
| The Crowd Roars | 1932 | Anne Scott |
| The Greeks Had a Word for Them | 1932 | Schatzi Sutro |
| Union Depot | 1932 | Ruth Collins |
| Blonde Crazy | 1931 | Anne Roberts |
| The Reckless Hour | 1931 | Myrtle Nichols |
| Night Nurse | 1931 | Maloney |
| Big Business Girl | 1931 | Pearl |
| My Past | 1931 | Marion Moore |
| The Public Enemy | 1931 | Mamie |
| God's Gift to Women | 1931 | Fifi |
| Illicit | 1931 | Helen 'Duckie' Childers |
| Millie | 1931 | Angie Wickerstaff |
| Other Men's Women | 1931 | Marie |
| Sinners' Holiday | 1930 | Myrtle |
| The Office Wife | 1930 | Katherine Murdock |
| The Heart Breaker | 1930 | Short |
| The Devil's Parade | 1930 | Short |
| Broadway's Like That | 1930 | Short | Ruth's Pal |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Feud | 2017 | TV Series 1 episode |
| Brother Can You Spare a Dime | 1975 | Documentary performer: "Remember My Forgotten Man" 1933 |
| Petticoat Junction | 1968 | TV Series performer - 1 episode |
| The Blue Veil | 1951 | performer: "Daddy" |
| Cry 'Havoc' | 1943 | performer: "Where Do We Go From Here?" 1917 - uncredited |
| Lady for a Night | 1942 | performer: "Up in a Balloon" - uncredited |
| Two Girls on Broadway | 1940 | performer: "Broadway's Still Broadway' 1940 |
| East Side of Heaven | 1939 | "Here Comes the Bride" a.k.a. "The Bridal Chorus", uncredited |
| Stand-In | 1937 | performer: "On the Good Ship Lollipop" 1934 - uncredited |
| Gold Diggers of 1937 | 1936 | performer: "Speaking of the Weather" 1936, "All's Fair in Love and War" 1936 |
| Sons o' Guns | 1936 | performer: "For a Buck and a Quarter a Day" 1936 - uncredited |
| Colleen | 1936 | lyrics: "You Gotta Know How to Dance" 1936 - uncredited / performer: "Boulevardier from the Bronx" 1936, "You Gotta Know How to Dance" 1936 - uncredited |
| We're in the Money | 1935 | performer: "The Gold Diggers' Song We're in the Money" 1933 - uncredited |
| Broadway Gondolier | 1935 | "Flagenheim's Odorless Cheese" 1935, "The Pig and the Cow and the Dog and Cat" 1935, uncredited / performer: "The Pig and the Cow and the Dog and Cat" 1935 - uncredited |
| Dames | 1934 | "Try to See It My Way" 1934, uncredited / performer: "The Girl at the Ironing Board" 1934 - uncredited |
| Gold Diggers of 1933 | 1933 | performer: "Remember My Forgotten Man" 1933 - uncredited |
| Illicit | 1931 | "Yankee Doodle", uncredited |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Cagney | 1974 | TV Special documentary | Herself (table bow) (uncredited) |
| The Mike Douglas Show | 1972 | TV Series | Herself - Actress |
| Tribute to Bogart | 1972 | TV Movie documentary | Herself - Interviewee |
| The David Frost Show | 1971 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1971 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Movie Crazy Years | 1971 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The 43rd Annual Academy Awards | 1971 | TV Special | Herself - Co-Presenter: Best Original Score & Best Song Score |
| The Joey Bishop Show | 1968 | TV Series | Herself |
| Bogart | 1967 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The 39th Annual Academy Awards | 1967 | TV Special | Herself - Audience Member |
| The Cincinnati Kid Plays According to Hoyle | 1965 | Short documentary | Herself |
| About Faces | 1960 | TV Series | Herself |
| Person to Person | 1959 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| The Jack Paar Tonight Show | 1958 | TV Series | Herself |
| Texaco Star Theatre | 1953-1955 | TV Series | Herself - Actress |
| All Star Revue | 1951-1953 | TV Series | Herself - Guest Actress / Comedic Dancer |
| The Frank Sinatra Show | 1951 | TV Series | Herself - Sketch Actor |
| TV Club | 1951 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| The Arthur Murray Party | 1950 | TV Series | Herself - Actress |
| Penthouse Party | 1950 | TV Series | Herself |
| 20 Questions | 1950 | TV Series | Herself |
| College of Musical Knowledge | 1950 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Faye Emerson Show | 1950 | TV Series | Herself |
| What's My Line? | 1950 | TV Series | Herself - Mystery Guest |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1950 | TV Series | Herself - Comic Actress |
| Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet | 1950 | TV Series | Herself |
| Meet the Stars #2: Baby Stars | 1941 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8 | 1935 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Things You Never See on the Screen | 1935 | Short | Herself |
| Hollywood Newsreel | 1934 | Short | Herself (uncredited) |
| Hollywood on Parade No. A-13 | 1933 | Short | Herself |
| How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 10: 'Trouble Shots' | 1931 | Short | Herself - Gallery Member (uncredited) |
| An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee | 1930 | Short | Herself |
