Joan Weldon
{{Short description|American actress (1930–2021)}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image = Joan Weldon (1955).jpg
| caption = Weldon in 1955
| birth_name = Joan Louise Welton
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|8|5}}
| birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|2|11|1930|8|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=joan-podell&pid=197925259 |title=Joan Podell Obituary |website=legacy.com |access-date=March 4, 2021}}
| death_place = Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
| occupation = Singer, film and television actress
| yearsactive = 1953–1958 (film and television)
1953–1980 (singer)
| spouse = Dr. David Podell (1966–2021, her death)
}}
Joan Weldon (born Joan Louise Welton;Peterson, Jackie (August 14, 1960). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner/153435675/ "She Couldn't Carry a Tune But Won Lead in Musical"]. San Francisco Examiner. p. C2. Retrieved August 16, 2024. "After two years of lessons and long hours of practice, the tutor sent Joan to audition for the San Francisco Opera chorus. Then known as Joan Louise Welton (later, Warner Bros. whimsically changed the 't' to a 'd'), the yet unpolished hopeful auditioned for chorus master Kurt Herbert Adler." August 5, 1930 – February 11, 2021) was an American actress and singer in film, television, and theatre.
Early years
Weldon was born in San Francisco, California, in 1930. Her grandmother, Olio Cornell, raised her there after she "was left motherless at five."{{cite news|last1=Cook|first1=Ben|title=Thumbnail Sketch|newspaper=The Terre Haute Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4572655/the_terre_haute_tribune/|agency=The Terre Haute Tribune|date=January 12, 1953|location=Indiana, Terre Haute|page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = March 9, 2016}} {{Open access}} Weldon's great-grandfather was an actor on stage and in vaudeville. She attended Galileo High School, and was inducted into its Hall of Merit in 2019.{{cite web|url=http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/283/Joan+Weldon/index.html|title=Joan Weldon - The Private Life and Times of Joan Weldon. Joan Weldon Pictures.|website=Glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com|accessdate=19 January 2018|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101033241/http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/283/Joan+Weldon/index.html|url-status=dead}}
Stage
File:Joan Weldon-Forrest Tucker in The Music Man.jpg in The Music Man (1960)]]
Weldon began her career singing in the San Francisco Grand Opera Company chorus. She also sang with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera.{{cite news|last1=Hopper|first1=Hedda|title=In Hollywood|newspaper=Valley Morning Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4572496/valley_morning_star/|agency=Valley Morning Star|date=November 20, 1952|location=Texas, Harlingen|page=7|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = March 9, 2016}} {{Open access}} On Broadway, she appeared in Kean.{{cite web|title=We found 30 results for "Joan Weldon"|url=http://www.playbill.com/searchpage/search?q=Joan+Weldon&sort=Relevance&shows=on&qasset=00000150-ac85-d16d-a550-ecbfcac60002|website=Playbill|accessdate=March 10, 2016}} She sang at the opening of the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center in 1964.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/24/states-theater-opens-at-center.html|title=STATE'S THEATER OPENS AT CENTER|last=Esterow|first=Milton|date=1964-04-24|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-05-30}}
After working in film and television, she resumed her career as a singer in road company productions including The Music Man{{cite news|title=Opera star heads 'Desert Song' cast|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=973&dat=19770708&id=5ntlAAAAIBAJ&pg=2212,3142936&hl=en|accessdate=March 10, 2016|agency=The Gridley Herald|date=July 8, 1977}} and Oklahoma! Weldon retired in 1980.
Radio
In 1953, Weldon appeared as the soprano soloist on a broadcast of The Standard Hour on NBC radio.{{cite news|last1=Buren|first1=Maxine|title=Vienna Philharmonic to Be Heard, NBC Features Newer Names on Air|newspaper=Statesman Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4572928/the_oregon_statesman/|agency=The Oregon Statesman|date=September 6, 1953|location=Oregon, Salem|page=12|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = March 9, 2016}} {{Open access}}
Film
Weldon's film debut came in the 1953 film The System. Although her background was singing in operas, The System and her next two films, So This Is Love and The Command, all had her in non-singing roles.{{cite news|last1=Hopper|first1=Hedda|title=Hedda Hoppers Hollywood|newspaper=Tucson Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4572841/tucson_daily_citizen/|agency=Tucson Daily Citizen|date=August 11, 1953|location=Arizona, Tucson|page=13|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = March 9, 2016}} {{Open access}}
She became a contract actress with Warner Bros. where she remained until her contract ended in 1954. Her most prominent film was the cult thriller Them!
Television
Weldon had a brief television career in the 1950s. Her first appearance in 1955 was in an episode of The Millionaire, starring Marvin Miller. She made three appearances on Lux Video Theater in various roles. She also played Marian Keats in the title role of the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Angry Mourner" in 1957 (Season 1, episode 7). In 1958, she portrayed Grace Wheeler in an episode of Maverick titled "Plunder of Paradise" starring Jack Kelly, Leo Gordon and Ruta Lee. She appeared in Cheyenne as a professional singer, and performed a duet with Clint Walker. She appeared in the Have Gun – Will Travel episode "The Singer". Her final television appearance was in 1958 on Shirley Temple Theater.
In 1955, Weldon was one of the regular singers on the syndicated program This Is Your Music.Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-6477-7}}. P. 1074.
Filmography
{{div col}}
- The System (1953) as Felice Stuart
- So This Is Love (1953) as Ruth Obre
- The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953){{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joan_weldon|title=Joan Weldon|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=March 4, 2021}}{{cite web|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Person/83772-Joan-Weldon?isMiscCredit=False|title=Joan Weldon|publisher=American Film Institute|access-date=March 4, 2021}} as Shelby Conroy
- The Command (1954) as Martha Cutting
- The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) as Maybelle - Saloon Girl on Porch (uncredited)
- Riding Shotgun (1954) as Orissa Flynn
- Them! (1954) as Dr. Patricia Medford
- Deep in My Heart (1954){{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f5c8f2f|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518195626/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f5c8f2f|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 18, 2017|title=Joan Weldon|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=March 4, 2021}} as Performer in 'New Moon'
- Lux Video Theatre (1954–1956, TV Series) as Anne / Patricia Dean
- The Millionaire (1955, TV Series) as Star Conway
- Gunsight Ridge (1957) as Molly Jones
- Cheyenne (1957, TV Series){{cite web|title=Joan Weldon List of Movies and TV Shows|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/joan-weldon/credits/3000173586/|website=TV Guide|access-date=March 4, 2021}} as Nellie Merritt
- Perry Mason (1957, TV Series) as Marion Keats
- Day of the Badman (1958) as Myra Owens
- Have Gun - Will Travel (1958, TV Series) as Faye Hollister
- Colt .45 (1958, TV Series) as Edith Murrow
- Maverick (1958, TV Series) as Grace Wheeler
- Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958, TV Series) as Amelia
- Home Before Dark (1958) as Frances Barrett (final film role)
{{Div col end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0919730}}
- [https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800126464/bio Joan Weldon] at Yahoo Movies
- {{IBDB name}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weldon, Joan}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from San Francisco
Category:American film actresses
Category:American musical theatre actresses
Category:American radio actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses