Joan Blondell
Born
Aug. 30, 1906
in New York, NY
Died
Dec. 25, 1979
of leukemia in St. John's Hospital, CA
Actress Joan Blondell's vaudeville, stage, movie and television careers nearly equaled the span of her life. In a career including performances in more than 90 movies, Blondell appeared with such stars as James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn. She often was cast as a direct, brassy but warm-hearted blonde in those movies of the 1930s, but her characterizations deepened in the '40s as Aunt Cissy in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and as a carnival queen in "Nightmare Alley." She was playing opposite James Cagney on Broadway when Warner Bros. talent scouts spotted and signed both of them to come to Hollywood. The pretty blond and the whispery-voiced Cagney starred together nine times. Blondell appeared almost as many times with Humphrey Bogart. After a voluntary absence for 10 years, Blondell began a comeback in 1965, trying again for stardom. She took minor parts like those she played at the beginning of her career. In 1978, she won a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in John Cassavetes' "Opening Night." For two seasons, Blondell played Lottie on ABC's "Here Comes the Brides" and had a featured role in NBC's "Banyon" series. "My family is the only reason I stay out here and do some these guest shots," she told an interviewer in 1978. "Otherwise, I'd rather work in Macy's basement; there's more dignity to that. As we all know, it's tough being a lady—a female—in this business, and when you're and old female, well, you're damn near sunk! They don't think there's a story about an old gal."
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Points of interest
Academy Awards
| Year | Category | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Best Supporting Actress | The Blue Veil | Nomination |
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Two thoughts about Joan Blondell
Just A Thought
Snow falling, it is December.
Cold day followed into a cold night.
The light from the silver screen is fading.
But, the images of you are not.
Morning comes and you are gone.
The star you were, now shines bright over the sky
One journey, now becomes another.
The glitter and the limelight may have gone long ago.
But, you marched on to be a mother, a friend, and a mentor.
Looking back through black and white.
The color of your life comes through.
Transforming the room to silence.
A mold had been broken, a image comes to life.
You could stand out anywhere.
Even in a crowded room.
That glow around you, Set you apart.
Even though your gone, the glow shall burn forever.
As the snow falls you are remembered.
In the storm there’s a light.
It’s that star burning ever so bright.
Shining down bringing life.
To that once faded silver screen.
On Christmas Day.
Just a thought.
You are not forgotten
On this special day.
This is for you Joan.
12/25/79
About mid seventies I met her in passing a bookstore in Santa Monica and approached her and said "you're Joan Blondell" and she said "honey, you are much too young to know who I am". I said I loved you as Sissy in "Tree Grows in Brooklyn". I was about 21 years old at the time. I think it made her smile to know that someone my age knew who she was.
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