Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1907 â€" May 22, 1961) was an
American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio,
and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy I
Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie
actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.Born in Saint Paul,
Minnesota, she was the only child of LeRoy Davis and Nina Mae (née
Sinks) Davis, who were married in St. Paul on November 23, 1910. Davis
had been a performer since childhood. She appeared with her husband Si
Wills in vaudeville.Davis' first film was a short subject for
Educational Pictures called Way Up Thar (1935), featuring a
then-unknown Roy Rogers. Educational's distribution company, Twentieth
Century-Fox, signed Davis for feature films. Tall and lanky, with a
comically flat speaking voice, she became known as one of the few
female physical clowns of her time. Perhaps best known for her
co-starring turn with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hold That Ghost
(1941), she had a reputation for flawless physical comedy.Her
pantomime sequence in Beautiful But Broke (1944) was a slapstick
construction-site episode. She also featured in Tail Spin (1939) as a
supporting actor, for the women's Bendix Air Race circuit. She
co-starred with Eddie Cantor in two features, Show Business (1944) and
If You Knew Susie (1948).
American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio,
and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy I
Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie
actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.Born in Saint Paul,
Minnesota, she was the only child of LeRoy Davis and Nina Mae (née
Sinks) Davis, who were married in St. Paul on November 23, 1910. Davis
had been a performer since childhood. She appeared with her husband Si
Wills in vaudeville.Davis' first film was a short subject for
Educational Pictures called Way Up Thar (1935), featuring a
then-unknown Roy Rogers. Educational's distribution company, Twentieth
Century-Fox, signed Davis for feature films. Tall and lanky, with a
comically flat speaking voice, she became known as one of the few
female physical clowns of her time. Perhaps best known for her
co-starring turn with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hold That Ghost
(1941), she had a reputation for flawless physical comedy.Her
pantomime sequence in Beautiful But Broke (1944) was a slapstick
construction-site episode. She also featured in Tail Spin (1939) as a
supporting actor, for the women's Bendix Air Race circuit. She
co-starred with Eddie Cantor in two features, Show Business (1944) and
If You Knew Susie (1948).
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