Joi Lansing

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This article is about the actor born Joy Rae Brown. For the radio advice host, see Joy Browne.

Joi Lansing
Lansing with Ralph Taeger in Klondike (1960)
Born
Joy Rae Brown

(1929-04-06)April 6, 1929[1]
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
DiedAugust 7, 1972(1972-08-07) (aged 43)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting placeSanta Paula Cemetery[2]
Other names
  • Joyce Wassmansdorff
  • Joy Loveland
  • Joyce Loveland
Occupations
  • Model
  • actress
  • singer
Years active1942–1970
Spouses
Jerome "Jerry" Safron
​
​
(m. 1950, annulled)​
​
​
(m. 1951; div. 1953)​
Stan Todd
​
​
(m. 1960)​

Joi Lansing (born Joy Rae Brown; April 6, 1929[3] – August 7, 1972) was an American model, film and television actress, and nightclub singer. She was noted for her pin-up photos and roles in B-movies, as well as a prominent role in the famous opening "tracking shot" in Orson Welles' 1958 crime drama Touch of Evil.

Lansing was often cast in roles similar to those played by her contemporaries Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. She frequently was clad in skimpy costumes and bikinis that accentuated her figure (34D bust), but she never posed nude.

Early life[edit]

Lansing was born at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1929 to Jack Glen Brown (also known as Glen Jack Brown and Glenn Jack Brown), a shoe salesman and orchestra musician, and Virginia Grace (née Shupe) Brown, a housewife.[4]

She was later known by her stepfathers' surnames, i.e. Wassmansdorff and Loveland. In 1940, her family moved to Los Angeles, where her half-siblings and/or step-siblings (Larry Vernon Loveland, Tammera Loveland, and Kim Loveland) were born.[4]

Career[edit]

She began modeling at the age of 14.[citation needed] Lansing was discovered at age 14 by Arthur Freed, the producer, and was signed to an MGM talent school contract.[5] Lansing completed high school on the studio lot.[6] While a student at the University of California, Los Angeles, a writer for The Bob Cummings Show spotted her, and a part was written into the show for her.[5]

Films[edit]

Lansing's film career began in 1948, and in 1952 she played an uncredited role in MGM's Singin' in the Rain. She received top billing in Hot Cars (1956), a crime drama involving a stolen-car racket. It could be argued, however, that the biggest single break of Lansing's career had come the year before, when, from 1955 through 1959, in roughly 125 episodes,[5] she portrayed the character Shirley Swanson on the Robert Cummings sitcom, The Bob Cummings Show.[7] In 1958, she appeared in the famous opening sequence of Orson Welles's Touch of Evil as Zita, the dancer who dies in a car explosion at the end of the extended tracking shot after exclaiming to a border guard "I keep hearing this ticking noise inside my head!"

She had a brief role as an astronaut's girlfriend in sci-fi parody Queen of Outer Space (1958) and had fourth billing in the science fiction feature The Atomic Submarine (1959). During the 1960s, she starred in short musical films for the Scopitone video-jukebox system. Her songs included "The Web of Love" and "The Silencers".

In 1964, producer Stanley Todd discussed a film project with Lansing, tentatively titled Project 22, with location shooting planned in Yugoslavia, and with George Hamilton and Geraldine Chaplin named to the cast. The film never was made.

Lansing played "Lola" in the romantic comedy Marriage on the Rocks (1965), with a cast that included Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, and Dean Martin. Lansing previously had appeared in Sinatra's drama A Hole in the Head (1959) and in Martin's comedy Who Was That Lady? (1960). She turned down the chance to replace Jayne Mansfield in The Ice House (a 1969 horror film), and instead appeared opposite Basil Rathbone (in his last film appearance) and John Carradine in Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967), as Mamie Van Doren's replacement. Her last film was Bigfoot (1970).

Recordings[edit]

Lansing started singing in nightclubs in the early 1960s, and her performances are documented in several trade magazines. She performed with the Xavier Cugat orchestra and briefly toured with Les Paul, but little is known about the songs she actually recorded. Apparently, while starring on The Bob Cummings Show, she recorded a 45 r.p.m. single on the small REO record label in 1957: "Love Me/What's It Gonna Be" (REO #1007).

In 1962, she recorded six to eight sides at Que Recorders in Los Angeles. These turned up at auction and were acetates of four songs each (with two songs duplicated on the second acetate). It is unknown whether these tracks were released on an album. Both acetates list the same identifying number of #4-8351. The songs recorded on February 23, 1962, were "Masquerade is Over", "All of You" (Cole Porter), "The One I Love" (which was most likely "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)", and "Who Cares?" (George and Ira Gershwin). On April 30, 1962, the songs recorded were "Feel So Young" (which was probably "You Make Me Feel So Young"), "Dream", "Masquerade", and "All of You".

It was reported in Cashbox magazine on April 17, 1965, that Lansing was recording an album for RCA records with Jimmie Haskell (and suggested that it should be titled Joi to the World of Jazz), but nothing further is known about this project.[2]

Television[edit]

Lansing with Ralph Taeger and Mari Blanchard in Klondike (1960)

Lansing appeared in The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The Jack Benny Program, It's a Great Life, I Love Lucy, Bat Masterson, Where's Raymond?, State Trooper, The People's Choice, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Sugarfoot, This Man Dawson, Maverick, Perry Mason, The Joey Bishop Show, Petticoat Junction, The Mothers-in-Law, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and had a recurring role in The Beverly Hillbillies.[8]

She named Ozzie Nelson as possessing the greatest sex appeal of any actor with whom she worked. The two played a love scene in a 1956 Fireside Theater drama titled Shoot the Moon.[9] Lansing had a recurring role as Shirley Swanson in The Bob Cummings Show (1956–59). She appeared in several episodes as a busty model who was the foil for photographer Bob Collins, Cummings's series name. The series ran for 173 episodes.

Lansing appeared as herself in a 1956 I Love Lucy season 6 episode, "Desert Island". In 1957, she played Vera Payson in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Crimson Kiss". She achieved some distinction for beating out Lois Lane (Noel Neill) to marry Superman (George Reeves) as the title character in "Superman's Wife", a 1958 episode of Adventures of Superman.[10]

What was possibly Lansing's best television role may have been her least-seen as the leading lady in The Fountain of Youth, a Peabody Award-winning unsold television pilot directed by Orson Welles for Desilu in 1956 and broadcast on the Colgate Theatre two years later. The half-hour film remains available for public viewing at the Paley Center for Media in New York City and Los Angeles.[11]

She appeared in a 1960 episode of The Untouchables entitled “The Noise of Death,” playing a character named Georgina Jones. In the 1960–61 season of Klondike, Lansing appeared as Goldie with Ralph Taeger, James Coburn, and Mari Blanchard. In 1960, she appeared as Evelyn in the "Election Bet" episode of the Mr. Lucky TV series (season 1, episode 34). In May 1963, Lansing appeared in Falcon Frolics '63. The broadcast honored the men stationed at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

She appeared in six episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies in the role of Gladys Flatt, the glamorous wife of bluegrass musician Lester Flatt.

Lansing has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles for her contributions to television.

Personal life[edit]

In August 1960, she married Stanley Laurence Todd, who had been her business manager when she married him.[12][13][14]

Lansing died from breast cancer on August 7, 1972, at St. John's Hospital, Santa Monica, California. She had been treated surgically for the disease two years earlier. She also suffered from severe anemia.[5] While some press accounts gave her age as 37, she was actually 43 years old.[15]

In popular culture[edit]

A highly fictionalized version of Lansing appears in James Ellroy's 2021 novel Widespread Panic.[16]

She appears in the Tex Avery animated short The House of Tomorrow, released in 1949.

Filmography[edit]

Features[edit]

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1952 Racket Squad Sandra (as Joy Lansing) Season 2 Episode 28 "The Home Wreckers"
1952 Gang Busters Cathy "The Suma Case"
1953 Your Jeweler's Showcase Episode aired Dec 22, 1953 "Farewell to Birdie McKeever"
1954 Where's Raymond? Season 1 Episode 28 "The Enlisted Reserves"
1954 Meet Corliss Archer Louise Season 1 Episode 24 "Harry and the Soap Opera Queen"
1954 The Lone Wolf Sarah Mitchell Season 1 Episode 22 "The Mexico Story"
1954 I Led 3 Lives Salesgirl (as Joy Lansing) Season 2 Episode 16 "Deportation"
1954 Four Star Playhouse Secretary Season 3 Episode 9 "Marked Down"
1954 General Electric Theater Marie (as Joy Lansing) Season 3 Episode 9 "The Face Is Familiar"
1955 Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok Dolores Carter (as Joy Lansing) Season 5 Episode 11 "To the Highest Bidder"
1955 So This Is Hollywood The Blonde Season 1 Episode 6 "He Done Her Wrong"
1955 Schlitz Playhouse The Blonde Season 4 Episode 33 "Who's the Blonde?"
1955 Damon Runyon Theater (unconfirmed) Season 1 Episode 3 "All Is Not Gold"
1955 The Ford Television Theatre Inez Hamilton Season 4 Episode 7 "A Smattering of Bliss"
1955 Four Star Playhouse Miss Wilson Season 4 Episode 6 "The Devil to Pay"
1955 Four Star Playhouse Elevator Operator (uncredited) Season 4 Episode 7 "Here Comes the Suit"
1955 It's a Great Life Miss Standish Season 1 Episode 31 "The Hospital"
1955 December Bride Miss Sullivan Season 1 Episode 21 "Jealousy"
1955 The People's Choice Vicki Sommers Season 1 Episode 8 "Sock Hires Mandy"
1955 December Bride Linda Season 2 Episode 4 "Ruth Neglects Matt"
1956 It's a Great Life Betty Clark Season 2 Episode 18 "Beauty Contest"
1956 The Star and the Story Mitzi (as Joy Lansing) Season 2 Episode 11 "The Difficult Age"
1956 Cavalcade of America Florence Season 4 Episode 13 "The Prison Within"
1956 Cavalcade of America Season 4 Episode 14 "Star and Shield"
1956 Celebrity Playhouse Eartha Svensen Season 1 Episode 19 "Bachelor Husband"
1956 Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre Terry Season 1 Episode 30 "Shoot the Moon"
1956 Warner Brothers Presents Greta Belle Short Episode aired Sep 16, 1956 "The Magic Brew"
1956 Conflict Greta Belle Short Season 1 Episode 3 "The Magic Brew"
1956 I Love Lucy Joi Lansing (herself) Season 6 Episode 8 "Desert Island"
1956 Noah's Ark Barbara Windso Season 1 Episode 12 "A Girl's Best Friend"
1956 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Eve Adams Season 4 Episode 14 "Art Studies"
1956 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Girl at the License Bureau Season 4 Episode 18 "The Safe Driver"
1956 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Girl on the Plane Season 4 Episode 20 "Personal Column"
1956 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Bubbles Season 5 Episode 9 "The Balloons"
1957 The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna Kristine Season 1 Episode 14 "Girls! Girls! Girls!"
1957 December Bride Candy Season 3 Episode 17 "Study Group"
1957 Playhouse 90 Miss Swanson Season 1 Episode 28 "If You Knew Elizabeth"
1957 The People's Choice Linda Archer Season 2 Episode 32 "The Sophisticates"
1957 Climax! Lucy Season 3 Episode 30 "Mr. Runyon of Broadway"
1957 Perry Mason Vera Payson Season 1 Episode 8 "The Case of the Crimson Kiss"
1957 The Danny Thomas Show Blonde Model Season 4 Episode 24 "The Model"
1957 The Danny Thomas Show Alysse Season 5 Episode 9 "Terry, the Breadwinner"
1957 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet 1st Woman Season 5 Episode 9 "The Balloons"
1957 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Blonde Season 5 Episode 27 "Hawaiian Party"
1957 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Girl Assistant Season 5 Episode 36 "The Coffee Table"
1957 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Barbara Benson Season 6 Episode 5 "The Mystery Shopper"
1958 Sugarfoot Peaches Season 1 Episode 22 "The Disbelievers"
1958 State Trooper Angie Season 2 Episode 19 "The Case of the Happy Dragon"
1958 Studio 57 Season 4 Episode 17 "The Starmaker"
1958 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Jackie LaRue Season 1 Episode 9 "Lead Ache"
1958 Adventures of Superman Sgt. Helen J. O'Hara Season 6 Episode 9 "Superman's Wife"
1958 Maverick Doll Hayes Season 1 Episode 27 "Seed of Deception"
1958 Colgate Theatre Caroline Coates Season 1 Episode 5 "The Fountain of Youth"
1958 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Beautiful Girl Season 7 Episode 10 "The Dress Shop"
1959 Sea Hunt Laura Pepper Season 2 Episode 5 "Monte Cristo"
1959 The Jack Benny Program Bessie Gifford Season 9 Episode 11 "Jack Goes to Nightclub"
1959 Lux Playhouse Season 1 Episode 11 "Stand-In for Murder"
1959 The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Miss Low Neck Season 2 Episode 4 "Lucy Wants a Career"
1955 - 1959 The Bob Cummings Show Bridal Model / Shirley / Shirley Swanson Seasons 1 - 5

24 Episodes

1959 Markham Hatcheck Girl Season 1 Episode 11 "Forty-Two on a Rope"
1959 General Electric Theater Blonde Babysitter Season 8 Episode 4 "Night Club"
1960 The Untouchables Georgina Jones Season 1 Episode 14 "The Noise of Death"
1960 The Dennis O'Keefe Show Mavis Season 1 Episode 20 "Follow That Mink"
1960 Mr. Lucky Evelyn Season 1 Episode 34 "Election Bet"
1960 This Man Dawson Carol Dawn Season 1 Episode 24 "Accessory to Murder"
1960 Klondike Goldie Season 1 Episode 1 "Klondike Fever"
1960 Klondike Goldie Season 1 Episode 2 "River Of Gold"
1960 Klondike Goldie Season 1 Episode 3 "Saints and Stickups"
1960 Klondike Goldie Season 1 Episode 6 "Swoger's Mule"
1960 Klondike Goldie Season 1 Episode 8 "Taste of Danger"
1960 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Blonde Season 8 Episode 18 "The Uninvited Guests"
1961 Klondike Goldie Season 2 Episode 15 "The Man Who Owned Skagway"
1961 Klondike Goldie Season 2 Episode 17 "The Hostages"
1963 The Joey Bishop Show Gloria Colby Season 2 Episode 20 "Joey Leaves Ellie"
1963 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Clubwoman Season 11 Episode 16 "Roadside Courtesy"
1963 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Salesgirl Season 12 Episode 1 "The Torn Dress"
1963 Rawhide Dance Hall Girl Season 6 Episode 3 "Incident at El Crucero"
1963 The Beverly Hillbillies Gladys Flatt Season 1 Episode 20 "Jed Throws a Wingding"
1964 The Beverly Hillbillies Gladys Flatt Season 2 Episode 24 "A Bride for Jed"
1965 The Beverly Hillbillies Gladys Flatt Season 3 Episode 25 "Flatt, Clampett, and Scruggs"
1966 The Beverly Hillbillies Gladys Flatt Season 4 Episode 25 "Flatt and Scruggs Return"
1967 The Beverly Hillbillies Gladys Flatt Season 5 Episode 28 "Delovely and Scruggs"
1968 The Beverly Hillbillies Gladys Flatt Season 7 Episode 9 "Bonnie, Flatt, and Scruggs"
1969 The Mothers-In-Law Barbara Season 2 Episode 23 "Take Her, He's Mine"
1970 The Governor & J.J. Joan Brock Season 2 Episode 12 "P.S. I Don't Love You"

Short subjects[edit]

  • Super Cue Men (1937)
  • The House of Tomorrow (1949), created by Tex Avery - "The Girl" on television (uncredited)
  • Joe McDoakes
    • "So You Want to Go to a Nightclub" (1954) - Lorna Lamour (uncredited)
    • "So You're Taking in a Roomer" (1954) - Blonde Roomer (uncredited)
    • "So You Want to Be a V.P." (1955) - Miss Poindexter - Secretary (uncredited)
    • "So You Want to Be a Policeman" (1955) - Blonde Getting Ticket (uncredited)
    • "So You Think the Grass Is Greener" (1956) - Geraldine Backspace (uncredited)
  • The Fountain of Youth (1956), scripted & directed by Orson Welles - Carolyn Coates
  • The Starmaker (1957), starring Bette Davis, on television - Mrs. Barclay Alexander

Further reading[edit]

  • Hunter, Alexis (2014). Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-798-0.
  • Charleston Gazette, "Sexy Blonde Yearns for Drama", June 13, 1957, page 4.
  • Chronicle Telegram, "Actress Joi Lansing to be buried Friday", August 9, 1972, page 6.
  • Long Beach Press-Telegram, "Her Voice Isn't Bad, Either", May 7, 1965, page 37.
  • Los Angeles Times, "Filmland Events", May 21, 1963, page C7.
  • Los Angeles Times, "Filmland Events", December 25, 1964, page D16.
  • Los Angeles Times, "Filmland Events", January 1, 1965, page C6.
  • Los Angeles Times, "Hollywood Calendar", April 25, 1965, page N8.
  • Los Angeles Times, "Humor, Social Commentary", April 26, 1965, page D10.
  • Los Angeles Times, "Talent Heads Downtown", July 12, 1966, page C8.
  • San Mateo Times, "Joi Lansing Turns Up and Talks About Men Actors", October 13, 1956, page 22.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dougherty, Joseph (2004). Comfort and Joi. iUniverse. p. 1. ISBN 0-595-33590-X. Other birth years given include 1928 (held by the Utah Historical Society records, per Dougherty, 2004), 1933, 1934, 1935, and 1936.
  2. ^ a b "Joi Lansing - The Private Life and Times of Joi Lansing. Joi Lansing Pictures". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  3. ^ 1929 appears to be the most likely year of birth as per the 1940 United States census, which gives her age as 11 as of April 22, 1940, under the name Joy Loveland, her stepfather's surname.
  4. ^ a b Dougherty, Joseph (2004). Comfort and Joi. iUniverse. p. 1. ISBN 0-595-33590-X. Other birth years given include 1928 (held by the Utah Historical Society records, per Dougherty, 2004), 1933, 1934, 1935, and 1936.
  5. ^ a b c d
  6. ^ Hunter, J.M. (2013). Mormons and Popular Culture: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon. Literature, art, media, tourism, and sports. Volume 2. p. 241. ISBN 9780313391675. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  7. ^ "Actress Joi Lansing of TV and Films Dies". Los Angeles Times. August 9, 1972. pt. II, pg. 4. Retrieved February 17, 1972.
  8. ^ Tucker, D.C. (2011). Eve Arden: A Chronicle of All Film, Television, Radio and Stage Performances. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 166. ISBN 9780786488100. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  9. ^ Koper, Richard. "When a Girl's Beautiful" - The Life and Career of Joi Lansing. BearManor Media.
  10. ^ Dougherty, Joseph (December 17, 2004). Comfort and Joi. iUniverse. ISBN 9780595783922. Retrieved April 2, 2018 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "NY Only: Orson Welles at 100: On Television | The Paley Center for Media". paleycenter.org. December 17, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  12. ^ Mitchell (August 1, 1960). "Marriage license, Joi Lansing; Stan Todd;". Getty Images. Los Angeles Examiner. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  13. ^ Francis, Betty (December 19, 2015). "Author Alexis Hunter visits with readers". The Desert Sun. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "Joi Lansing". Filmweb. September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on September 16, 2010.
  15. ^ Dougherty, J. (2004). Comfort and Joi. iUniverse. p. 7. ISBN 9780595783922. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  16. ^ Ellroy, James (2021), Widespread Panic, ISBN 9781785152580, OCLC 1245842550, retrieved June 20, 2021

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joi Lansing.
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