biography
Born Joanne LaCock in Logan, West Virginia, on January 31, 1922, beautiful actress Joanne Dru went to New York as a teenager,
following the death of her father. The gorgeous teenager soon found work as a Powers model and showgirl; she was spotted by Al
Jolson and cast as a showgirl in Hold Onto Your Hats on Broadway in September 1940. Following the show's close in February
1941, she met and married then-popular crooner Dick Haymes, who was a lead vocalist with the Harry James orchestra and later with
Tommy Dorsey. The newlyweds moved to California soon afterward, as Haymes had signed a film contract with 20th Century-Fox. The
couple eventually had two daughters and a son. As Haymes' film career began to ebb in the late 1940s, Joanne Dru's acting career
gained momentum. 
Dru was spotted in a theater production for films and, for her first film, landed the starring role in the romantic comedy Abie's
Irish Rose (1946; with ), about a young Irish Catholic woman who marries a Jewish solider stationed in London. The film's prewar
origins didn't ring true with world-weary postwar audiences, and the film flopped at the box office and was slaughtered by critics.
Her next role proved a success, in Howard Hawk's hit western Red River (1948; with John Wayne
and John Ireland). Dru and John Ireland became an item during filming, and in 1949 Dru divorced Haymes and married Ireland. Dru
and Ireland made a number of films together, including All the King's Men (1949; with Broderick Crawford), Vengeance
Valley (1951; with Burt Lancaster), Hannah Lee (1953; with Macdonald Carey), and Southwest Passage (1954; with
Rod Cameron). Although she appeared in a healthy dose of dramas and film noir thrillers, due to her frequent appearances in westerns
Dru found herself typecast by the late 1950s. |
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the films of joanne druAbie's Irish Rose (1946)
From Dru's first film, Abie's Irish Rose, released by United Artists. Dru portrays an Irish Catholic woman who marries Norris, a Jewish ManAll the King's Men (1950)
From the Columbia drama All the King's Men with John Ireland. Dru and Ireland were married from 1949 to 1957My Pal Gus (1952)
With Richard Widmark in the 20th Century Fox comedy My Pal GusForbidden (1953) 
With Tony Curtis in Universal-International's film noir release ForbiddenThunder Bay (1953) 
From the Universal-International adventure Thunder BayThe Ford Television Theatre (1952-1957 NBC/ABC TV Series)
With Scott Brady from a comedic April 1953 episode of The Ford Television Theatre titled Just What the Doctor Ordered3 Ring Circus (1954)
With Dean Martin and Zsa Zsa Gabor in the Martin and Lewis comedy 3 Ring Circus, released by ParamountDuffy of San Quentin (1954)
With Louis Hayward in Universal's Duffy of San QuentinThe Light in the Forest (1958)
With Fess Parker in the Disney film The Light in the ForestThe Wild and the Innocent (1959)
From the Universal-International western The Wild and the Innocent with Audie Murphy and Peter BreckSeptember Storm (1960)
From the 20th Century Fox adventure September Storm, shot in the rare Stereo-Vision processSylvia (1965)
From the Paramount drama Sylvia with George MaharisThe Long, Hot Summer (1965-66 ABC TV Series)
With Roy Thinnes in an episode of the ABC TV series The Long, Hot Summer entitled Nor Hell a Fury, which originally aired December 9, 1965later yearsFollowing the release of the drama September Storm (1960; with Mark Stevens), Dru made just two more films: the drama Sylvia (1965; with Carroll Baker and George Maharis) and the comedy Superfuzz (1980; with Terence Hill, Dru's last acting appearance. In the 1960s, her acting career flourished on television, where she starred on the ABC series Guestward Ho! (1960-1961) and took guest spots on such shows as The Green Hornet and Burke's Law. Dru's brother, comedian and game show host Peter Marshall, invited her to appear on Hollywood Squares numerous times in the 1960s and 1970s.After Dru divorced John Ireland in 1957, she married two more times. Her third husband, George, died in 1972, and and fourth husband left her a widow in 1992. Sadly, by this time Dru's health had begun to deteriorate, and she passed away on September 10, 1996, at the age of 74. She was survived by her three children. |
filmographyFILM
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