Joyce Compton was one of Hollywood's favorite dumb blondes.

Joyce Compton

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Joyce Compton
Born	Olivia Joyce Compton (1907-01-27)January 27, 1907 Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	October 13, 1997(1997-10-13) (aged 90) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active	1925–1961
Spouse(s)	William Francis Kaliher (1955-1956) (divorced)

Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress.
She was born Olivia Joyce Compton in Lexington, Kentucky and not "Eleanor Hunt" as is frequently erroneously stated.^[1] (She had appeared in the film Good Sport (1931) with Hunt and this confusion in an early press article followed Compton throughout her career.) After graduating high school she spent two years studying at the University of Tulsa, studying dramatics, art, music and dancing. She won a personality and beauty contest and spent two months in a film studio as an extra.
Compton first made a name for herself when she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, alongside Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Joan Crawford, Dolores del Río, Janet Gaynor and Fay Wray. Compton appeared in a long string of mostly B-movies from the 1920s through the 1950s. She was a comedy actress and protested at being stereotyped as a "dumb blonde".^[2]

Compton and Robert Benchley in Bedtime Story

Among her over two hundred films^[3] were Imitation of Life, Magnificent Obsession, The Awful Truth, Mildred Pierce, and The Best Years of Our Lives.^[4]
A devout Christian, on her gravestone, just beneath her dates of birth and death, is written "Christian Actress".^[5] She died from natural causes, aged 90, and was laid to rest in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Partial filmography

• Broadway Lady (1926)
• Dangerous Curves (1929)
• The Wild Party (1929)
• The Sky Hawk (1929)
• The Three Sisters (1930)
• Up Pops the Devil (1931)
• Annabelle's Affairs (1931)
• Under 18 (1932)
• Unholy Love (1932)
• Sing, Sinner, Sing (1933)
• Imitation of Life (1934)
• The White Parade (1934)
• King Kelly of the U.S.A. (1934)
• Magnificent Obsession (1935) unbilled
• Trapped by Television (1936)
• Country Gentlemen (1936)
• Murder with Pictures (1936)
• Sitting on the Moon (1936)
• The Awful Truth (1937)
• Sea Racketeers (1937)
• Small Town Boy (1937)
• Wings Over Honolulu (1937)
• Going Places (1938)
• Rose of Washington Square (1939)
• Reno (1939)
• Escape to Paradise (1939)
• I Take This Oath (1940)
• They Drive by Night (1940) (uncredited)
• Let's Make Music (1941)
• Bedtime Story (1941)
• Thunder Birds (1942)
• Hitchhike to Happiness (1945)
• Mildred Pierce (1945)
• Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
• Dark Alibi (1946)
• Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
• A Southern Yankee (1948)

References

1. Jump up ^ Compton, Joyce & Ankerich, Michael (2009). "The Real Joyce Compton: Behind the dumb blonde movie image". BearManor Media, p.286-7.
2. Jump up ^ Compton & Ankerich, (2009), p.12.
3. Jump up ^ Lamparski, Richard (1982). Whatever became of-- ?: eighth series. Crown Publishers. 
4. Jump up ^ Compton & Ankerich, 2009.
5. Jump up ^ Find a Grave

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joyce Compton.

Biography portal

• Joyce Compton at the Internet Movie Database
• Joyce Compton at Find a Grave
• The Joyce Compton shrine

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Joyce Compton made a career out of playing dumb blondes. She made two-reel comedies for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, but it better known for her work in feature films. She made some television programs, including THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW. When her acting career slowed down in the fifties she also had a career as a nurse.

Joyce Compton appeared in several movies with Dorothy Appleby and so they are seen in publicity pictures together. They were both associated with comedy films, although they didn't actually play the same type. Joyce Compton played a dumb blonde and Dorothy Appleby tended to be a wise guy.



Joyce Compton and Clara Bow in THE WILD PARTY ( 1929 )

Joyce Compton, Loretta Young, and Joan Marsh in Three Girls Lost (1931)

Cheesecake shot for Mack Sennett, 1933.

With Charley Chase in MANHATTAN MONKEY BUSINESS ( 1935 ).

Eric Linden and Joyce Compton in the film Let 'Em Have It (1935)

 

 

 

Autographed picture of Joyce Compton from THE AWFUL TRUTH ( 1937 )

 

 

 

 

 

Dorothy Appleby, Douglas "Wrong-Way" Corrigan, and Joyce Compton in THE FLYING IRISHMAN ( 1939 ).

 

This film was based on aviator Corrigan's real-life exploits.

 

 

 

With Buster Keaton in THE VILLIAN STILL PURSUED HER ( 1940 )

 

 

 

 

 

Joyce Compton testifying in the trial of George Raft in THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT ( 1940 ).

 

 

 This movie also featured Ida Lupino. It reused some elements from BORDERTOWN ( 1935 ) which had starred Bette Davis and Margaret Lindsay.


MANPOWER ( 1941 )

Dorothy Appleby at left with Barbara Pepper, Lucia Carroll, Marlene Dietrich, and Joyce Compton. Eve Arden is visible in the rear.




Joyce Compton, Roy Rogers, and Phyllis Brooks in Silver Spurs (1943)

Molly Lamont, Joyce Compton, and Douglas Fowley in Scared to Death (1947)

With Red Skelton in A SOUTHERN YANKEE, 1948.

Joyce Compton with Abbott and Costello on an episode of their tv show in 1953, "Las Vegas".

Robert Paige, Ruth Warrick (center) & Joyce Compton in the NBC-TV series Fireside Theater, episode The Gift Horse

                                                                             POSTERS


SUICIDE SQUAD ( 1935 ) - With Norman Foster

SMALL TOWN BOY ( 1937 ) with Stuart Erwin and Dorothy Appleby.

MANPOWER  ( 1941 ) Left to right- Lucia Carroll, Eve Arden, Marlene Dietrich, Lynn Baggot, Joyce Compton.

SILVER SPURS ( 1943 ) With Roy Rogers and Smiley Burnette.

SCARED TO DEATH ( 1947 ) With Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, and Nat Pendleton

GRAND CANYON ( 1949 ) With Richard Arlen and Mary Beth Hughes.

I think Joyce Compton is the girl with the two guys at lower left on this poster.



                                                                                     COVER GIRL


PICTUREGOER ( 1932 )

WILFRED WAVES ( Sept. 1940 )

THE AWFUL TRUTH - MY DREAMS ARE GONE WITH THE WIND:



HOLLYWOOD HOBBIES:




SCARED TO DEATH:




Joyce Compton Shrine:
http://scrubbles.net/joyce.html

Joyce Compton:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0174049/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


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