Joan Blondell was a real asset to Warner Brothers; she took every part offered her and always obeyed the rules. Some think that this is the reason that she was not recognized or given better and more opportunities to show her acting talent. She was only nominated for a Oscar once in 1952 for her portrayal of Annie Rawlins in "The Blue Veil". However, she certainly didn't lack talent.

Joan seemed destined to live her life in the spotlight being born August 30, 1906 into a show business family. Her father was Vaudeville onstage comic named 'Eddie Joan Blondell' who was one of the original Katzenjammer Kids. She was first on the stage when she was three years old. For years, she toured the circuit with her parents and joined a stock company when she was 17.

She made her debut into the "big time" with the Ziegfeld Follies and also appeared in several Broadway productions. She was starring in a Broadway production with James Cagney when Warner Brothers decided to film the play Sinner's Holiday in 1930. The film being a success, Joan would again be teamed with Cagney in films such as Public Enemy in 1931 and Blonde Crazy the same year. In The Office Wife in 1930, she would steal the scenes when she was dressing for work. Tame by today's standards, it was an erotic shot in the 30's.

While Warner Brothers made Cagney a star, Joan never rose to that level. She generally played gold-diggers and happy-go-lucky girlfriends. She was in most of the 1930's Busby Berkeley musicals where she stood out as one of the stars. She would be paired in ten movies with the late Dick Powell; they were married to each other for ten years.

By 1939, Joan had left Warner Brothers to become an independent actress and begin her move to character roles. Three of her better roles, at that time, were in 'Topper Returns', 1941 'Cry Havoc, 1943' and 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A' 1945 in which she gave, probably her best performance and, in my opinion, should have received a nomination for an Oscar.

In 1957, she would again appear on screen as a drunk and mature companion to Jayne Mansfield in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Movie appearances would be slim, but she made a big impact in the TV series The Real McCoys where she played Winifred Jordan in 1957 and as Lottie Hatfield in Here Come The Brides from 1968-1970. Her last movie was The Woman Inside which wasn't released until 1981.By the time she died in Santa Monica, California of leukemia on Christmas Day in 1979, she had been in an astounding 102 productions.

Spouse

• Michael Todd (1947 - 1950) (divorced)
  
• George Barnes (1932 - 1936) (divorced)
  
• Dick Powell (19 September 1936 - 14 July 1944) (divorced) 1 daughter

Trivia

• Older sister of actress Gloria Blondell.
• Mother with Powell of actor/director/producer Norman S. Powell and Pamela Ellen Powell.

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