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Her father, known as Eddie Joan Blondell, was a vaudeville comedianA comedian (also comedienne female) is a person who attempts to make people laugh through a variety of methods, normally through joke telling. However, other comedians rely on methods such as slapstick (for example, Laurel and Hardy), or prop comedy to ge who was one of the original Katzenjammer KidsKatzenjammer Kids is one of the oldest comic strips and the oldest still in syndication. It debuted in 1897 in the American Humorist a Sunday supplement of the New York Journal along with the slightly older strip The Yellow Kid''. It was created by Rudolp. Her younger sister, Gloria Blondell ( 1910Events January events January 13 The first live musical radio program. Lee De Forest broadcasts a live performance of Enrico Caruso from the Metropolitan Opera. January 26 ? Seine floods in Paris. February events February 8 The Boy Scouts of America is in- 19861986 is a common year starting on Wednesday. Events January January 1 Spain and Portugal enter the European Community January 1 Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles. January 9 After losing a pa), was also an actress.
The daughter of travelling showpeople, Blondell had seen much of the world by the time the family settled in Dallas, TexasDallas redirects here. For other uses see Dallas (disambiguation Dallas is one of the ten largest cities in the United States and the heart of the largest metropolitan area in Texas. It is the county seat of Dallas County and small portions of the city al while she was a teenager. She won a local beauty contestA beauty contest or beauty pageant is a competition between people, based largely, though not always entirely, on the beauty of their physical appearance. Almost invariably, competitions for men and women are separate events, and those for men are not ref and travelled to New York to become an actress. She soon moved to Hollywood where she was placed under contract by Warner Brothers Studios, making her film debut in 1930. During the 1930s she would embody the depression era gold-digger, and with her huge eyes, blonde hair and wise cracking personality, became a crowd favourite. She appeared in more Warner Brothers films than any other actress, and referred to herself as "Warner's workhorse". The popularity of her films made a great contribution to the studio's profitability.
Blondell was paired with James Cagney in such films as The Public Enemy ( 1931), and was one half of the gold-digging duo (with Glenda Farrell) in nine films. By the end of the decade she had made nearly 50 films. Continuing to work regularly for the rest of her life, Blondell was well received in her later films, and received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in The Painted Veil ( 1951). She also appeared in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ( 1945), Desk Set ( 1957) and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). She was widely seen in two films released not long before her death, Grease ( 1978) and The Champ ( 1979).
She was married first in 1932 to the cinematographer George S. Barnes ( 1892- 1953); they divorced in 1936. Her second husband, married on September 19, 1936, was the actor, director, and singer Dick Powell; they were divorced on July 14, 1944, and had two children, Ellen Powell and Norman S. Powell (who became an actor, producer, and director). She married as her third husband, in 1947, the producer Michael Todd, who divorced her in 1950.
She died of leukemia in Santa Monica, California and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Joan Blondell has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to Motion Pictures, at 6309 Hollywood Boulevard.