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Joan Evans (actress)

Summary

Joan Evans (born Joan Katherine Eunson; July 18, 1934 – October 21, 2023) was an American film actress known for Roseanna McCoy, Skirts Ahoy! and co-starred with Audie Murphy in the movie, Column South. She was married to Kirby Weatherly in August 1952.

Joan Evans
Evans in Edge of Doom (1950)
Born
Joan Katherine Eunson

(1934-07-18)July 18, 1934
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 21, 2023(2023-10-21) (aged 89)
Henderson, Nevada, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1949–1961
Spouse
Kirby Weatherly
​
(m. 1952)​
Children2

Early years edit

Joan Katherine Eunson was born in New York City on July 18, 1934, to Hollywood writers Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert.[1][2][3] Her father wrote the book The Day They Gave Babies Away, which was made into the movie All Mine to Give (1957). She was named after actress Joan Crawford, her godmother.[4] She played Gretel in a school performance of Hansel and Gretel. [5]

Acting edit

Sam Goldwyn edit

Evans appeared in three movies with actor Farley Granger. Her first film with him was as the title role in Roseanna McCoy (1949), based on the real-life romance between two members of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. She gained the role after producer Samuel Goldwyn conducted a national talent search after the original star, Cathy O'Donnell, pulled out. Evans was only 14 years old when she started work on Roseanna McCoy, and her parents added two years to her age so she could claim to be 16 when the film was released.[6][7][8]

Evans' film career was launched with her three pictures opposite Granger, including a supporting role in the drama Our Very Own (1950) and a featured part in the crime story Edge of Doom (1950).[9]

Evans had top billing as a suicidal teenager in RKO's drama On the Loose (1951),[10] then second billing to Esther Williams in an MGM musical comedy, Skirts Ahoy! (1952).

Goldwyn lent her to Universal, where she was third-billed as Irene Dunne's daughter in It Grows on Trees (1952).[11] She was Audie Murphy's leading lady in Column South (1953).

Television edit

At Republic, she starred as the love interest of John Derek in a Western, The Outcast (1954), and started appearing on TV shows, including General Electric Theatre, Climax!, The Millionaire, Schlitz Playhouse, Cavalcade of America, Lux Video Theatre, Cheyenne, Wagon Train, 77 Sunset Strip, and Zorro.[12]

Evans had the lead in a crime film for Republic, A Strange Adventure (1956) and was reunited with Murphy for No Name on the Bullet (1959). For Sam Katzman, she was one of The Flying Fontaines (1959).[13]

Her final performances were in The Chevy Mystery Show, The Rebel, Outlaws, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Brothers Brannagan, Ripcord, and The Tall Man. Her last feature film was The Walking Target. Her last role was in the episode "The Killer Legend" of Laramie as Julie Wade.[14]

Evans retired from acting in 1961 at just 27 years old.[citation needed]

Journalism edit

In the 1950s, Evans wrote articles for Photoplay magazine. Beginning in May 1966, she was editor of Hollywood Studio Magazine, using her married name, Joan Evans Weatherly.[4]

Later years edit

Evans became an educator, and in the 1970s, she was the director of Carden Academy in Van Nuys, California.[15]

Personal life edit

On July 24, 1952, when Evans was 17 years old, she married car dealer Kirby Weatherly in Joan Crawford's home.[16] Her parents asked Crawford, their daughter's godmother, to dissuade her from marrying, since she was so young. Katherine Albert and her husband Dale Eunson reportedly based the unflattering Margaret Elliot character in their film, The Star on Joan Crawford, whose long friendship with the couple was ending as production began. Crawford retaliated after the Eunsons sent their daughter to the actress in the hope that Crawford would talk her out of marrying at age 17. Instead, Crawford arranged the wedding, held it in her house, and called the Eunsons afterward to tell them about it. "She set the whole thing up behind our backs", Albert complained. "She called the judge and the press. She didn't invite us to our own daughter's wedding."[17]

Evans's marriage to Weatherly lasted, but the friendship between Evans' parents and Crawford ended permanently.[18]

The Weatherlys had a daughter on August 16, 1955, and a son in January 1960.[19][20] In 1984, Joan Evans and her husband signed a tribute to Joan Crawford in Daily Variety.[21]

Death edit

On October 21, 2023, Evans died in Henderson, Nevada. She was 89, and was survived by her two children and a grandson.[2]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Television edit

References edit

  1. ^ Room, Adrian (2012). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 168. ISBN 9780786457632. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Barnes, Mike (October 28, 2023). "Joan Evans, Actress in ‘On the Loose,’ ‘Skirts Ahoy!’ and ‘Edge of Doom,’ Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  3. ^ Slide, Anthony (2010). Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers. The University Press of Mississippi. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-60473-413-3.
  4. ^ a b Slide, Anthony (2010). Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 77. ISBN 9781604734140. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  5. ^ "Joan Evans". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 25, 1949. p. 31. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (September 12, 1948). "GOLDWYN'S NEW DISCOVERY CALLED CINDERELLA STORY: Goldwyn Find Called 'Great'". Los Angeles Times. p. D1.
  7. ^ "ON THE WAY TO STARDOM". New York Times. September 12, 1948. p. X5.
  8. ^ THOMAS M. PRYOR (April 17, 1949). "MIXING THE THREE R's WITH STARDOM". New York Times. p. X5.
  9. ^ "JOAN EVANS GETS LEAD IN NEW FILM". New York Times. September 2, 1949. p. 14.
  10. ^ "LEAD IN 'JEALOUSY' TO SPENCER TRACY". New York Times. December 18, 1950. p. 34.
  11. ^ "WILLIAMS WRITING NEW MOVIE SCRIPT". New York Times. February 2, 1952. p. 10.
  12. ^ Schallert, Edwin (September 14, 1953). "Tyrone Power Stars in 'Gray Line;' Joan Evans in 'Red Horizon'". Los Angeles Times. p. A9.
  13. ^ Scheuer, Philip K (August 28, 1958). "Cindy Robbins Has Rock as Romancer: Glendale Girl in 'This Earth'; U-I Signs Joan Evans, Drake". Los Angeles Times. p. B7.
  14. ^ "Career of 1950s television actress faded in '60s". Austin American-Statesman (FINAL ed.). April 15, 1990. p. 3.
  15. ^ Jackovich, Karen (March 3, 1977). "Actress Joan Evans now a 'schoolmarm'". Valley News. California, Van Nuys. p. 29. Retrieved September 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  16. ^ Hopper, Hedda (July 25, 1952). "Joan Evans, Starlet, Weds". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference TCM page was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Hadleigh, Boze (1999). Celebrity Feuds!: The Cattiest Rows, Spats, and Tiffs Ever Recorded. Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 188. ISBN 9781461708582. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  19. ^ "Girl for Joan Evans". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Texas, Corpus Christi. Associated Press. August 17, 1955. p. 34. Retrieved September 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  20. ^ Parsons, Louella (January 17, 1960). "Husband of 36 Years Sees Marlene's Act for First Time". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 10. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  21. ^ Joan Crawford fansite

External links edit

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