- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJoanne Elmer Woodbury
- Nickname
- Queen of the B's
- Tall, provocative actress Joan Woodbury (aka Nana Martinez) was born Joanne Elmer Woodbury in Los Angeles, California, on December 17, 1915. Of Danish, English and Indian heritage, she was educated for seven years in a convent school. Trained in dance, she was already performing in her mid-teens by the time she graduated from Hollywood High School. A solo dancer at one point with the Agua Caliente dance company, she broke into films at age 19, her exotic beauty being her "in" to the picture business.
For many years Joan was relegated to atmospheric bit parts as assorted dancing girls, barmaids, secretaries and the like. Once she progressed to co-starring roles, her characters often provided a foreign allure (Hispanic, French, Asian) playing femmes with such desirous names as Lolita, Dolores and Toto. She managed to churn out a feisty score of ladies and girlfriends for about a decade and a half (1934-49).
Woodbury was featured in a number of "Charlie Chan" entries of the 1930s, particularly Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) wherein she turned heads performing a very sultry dance routine. A resilient western player as well, she appeared opposite a number of cowboy heroes including William Boyd when she played her memorable role as Dolores in The Eagle's Brood (1935). Her first co-starring role, in fact, came opposite sagebrush star Tim McCoy (in a dual role) in Bulldog Courage (1935). One of her finest moments in the limelight has to be her titular role in the Columbia serial Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945), in which she gave a fine, spirited performance as the intrepid heroine.
After retiring from films in the 1960s, Woodbury became a producer/director of grand and light operas for the Redlands (California) Bowl. Married twice -- to actor/producer Henry Wilcoxon and then actor Ray Mitchell -- Joan and her second husband subsequently co-founded the Palm Springs-based Valley Players Guild, staging plays that featured other veteran performers.
She died of a respiratory ailment in 1989, aged 73, and was survived by her three children by her first marriage to Wilcoxon.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpousesRay Mitchell(October 20, 1971 - February 22, 1989) (her death)Henry Wilcoxon(December 17, 1938 - August 1969) (divorced, 3 children)
- ChildrenChild
- ParentsElmer Franklin WoodburyJoan Meta (Hadenfeldt) Woodbury
- For six years she was a producer and and director of both grand and light operas for the Redlands (California) Bowl.
- Had three children from her marriage to actor Henry Wilcoxon: Wendy, Heather and Cecilia. Cecilia was named after Cecilia de Mille, the daughter of director Cecil B. DeMille, with whom Henry was a close associate.
- According to Laura Wagner's article on Joan in Film of the Golden Ages, Spring 2015 issue, Joan was considered a child prodigy. At three she was performing in concert. At six she was fluent in two languages; was an excellent child horsewoman; and danced and played the piano.
- She was the great-niece of the founder of Woodbury Soap.
- She and her second husband, actor Ray Mitchell co-founded the Valley Players Guild Theatre in Palm Springs, California.
- The pace of B's was more to my liking. We seldom had retakes, which bore me to death, and there was never time for the star temperament and such nonsense that goes on during the filming of a big picture.
- I don't blame the studios [for typecasting me]. I certainly didn't look much like the girl next door. A cameraman once told me I had the longest face in the picture business.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content