biography

Joy Harmon Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 1, 1940, beautiful Joy Harmon began modeling while still a child, after her parents moved to Connecticut. While a teenager in high school, she landed a small role in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, which was filmed near her home in Westport, Connecticut. Bitten by the acting bug, Harmon entered beauty contests and appeared on Broadway. A few more film roles followed before she was cast as a regular on Groucho Marx's short-lived 1962 series Tell It to Groucho. At the time she was also a popular pin-up girl, appearing in men's magazines of the period.

Joy HarmonJoy Harmon and Groucho Marx

LEFT: Early 1960s cheesecake photo of Joy Harmon. RIGHT: Harmon was a contestant on Groucho Marx's game show You Bet Your Life in the late 1950s

Harmon landed roles in such films as Village of the Giants (1965; with Tommy Kirk, Ron Howard, and Tisha Sterling), One Way Wahini (1965; with Anthony Eisley, Edgar Bergen, and Alvy Moore), and Young Dillinger (1965; with Robert Conrad, Nick Adams, and John Ashley), and on popular TV shows, including Gidget, Batman, and The Monkees.


the films of joy harmon

One Way Wahine (1965)

Anthony Eisley, Adele Claire, Edgar Bergen, David Whorf, and Joy HarmonOne Way Wahini poster

LEFT: Scene from the difficult-to-find film One Way Wahine. Pictured are Anthony Eisley, Adele Claire, Edgar Bergen, David Whorf, and Joy Harmon. RIGHT: One-sheet poster

Village of the Giants (1965)

Joy HarmonJoy HarmonJoy HarmonJoy HarmonJoy Harmon

Scenes from Village of the Giants. LEFT: With Beau Bridges, Tisha Sterling, Tim Rooney, Kevin O'Neil, Bob Random, and Gail Gilmore. CENTER and RIGHT: The giant teens take over Hainesville

Young Dillinger (1965)

Helen Stephens, Dan Terranova, Beverly Powers, Robert Conrad, Nick Adams, Mary Ann Mobley, John Ashley, and Joy HarmonYoung Dillinger poster

LEFT: Cast photo from the Allied Artists release Young Dillinger. Pictured are Helen Stephens, Dan Terranova, Beverly Powers, Robert Conrad, Nick Adams , Mary Ann Mobley, John Ashley, and Joy Harmon. RIGHT: Original half-sheet poster

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Joy HarmonJoy HarmonJoy HarmonJoy Harmon

Harmon washes a car in this memorable scene from Cool Hand Luke

Angel in My Pocket (1969)

Joy Harmon and Andy Griffith

With Andy Griffith in the Universal comedy Angel in My Pocket

joy harmon today

When Harmon married producer Jeff Gourson in 1968, her film career ended; she made a few more TV appearances in the early 1970s before retiring from the screen to raise her three children. Harmon's marriage ended in 2001, and she is now the owner of Aunt Joy's Cakes, a well-respected bakery in Burbank.

filmography

FILM
Angel in My Pocket (1969) with Andy Griffith and Lee Meriwether
Cool Hand Luke (1967) with Paul Newman, George Kennedy, and Dennis Hopper
A Guide for the Married Man (1967) with Walter Matthau, Sue Ane Langdon, and Inger Stevens
One Way Wahine (1965) with Anthony Eisley and Edgar Bergen
Village of the Giants (1965) with Tommy Kirk, Beau Bridges, Johnny Crawford, Tisha Sterling, and Ron Howard
Young Dillinger (1965) with Nick Adams, Robert Conrad, John Ashley, Mary Ann Mobley, and Beverly Powers
Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) with Jack Lemmon and Edie Adams
Mad Dog Coll (1961) with John Davis Chandler and Telly Savalas
Let's Rock (1958) with Julius LaRosa and Phyllis Newman

TELEVISION SERIES
Tell It to Groucho 1962 CBS TV series. Joy Harmon was a regular

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
The Odd Couple, episode Don't Believe in Roomers, originally aired December 22, 1972
Love, American Style, episode Love and the Secret Habit, originally aired December 8, 1972
The Monkees, episode Monkees On The Wheel, originally aired December 11, 1967
The Monkees, episode The Picture Frame, originally aired September 18, 1967
Bewitched, episode Divided He Falls, originally aired May 5, 1966
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., episode Gomer, the Would-Be Hero, originally aired April 15, 1966
Batman, episode When the Rat's Away the Mice will Play, originally aired February 17, 1966
Batman, episode A Riddle a Day keeps the Riddler Away, originally aired February 16, 1966
Gidget, episode A Hearse, a Hearse, My Kingdom for a Hearse, originally aired October 20, 1965
Gidget, episode In God, and Nobody Else, We Trust, originally aired September 22, 1965
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed the Strangler?, originally aired January 6, 1965
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed the Richest Man in the World?, originally aired November 11, 1964
The Beverly Hillbillies, episode Elly Becomes A Secretary, originally aired May 22, 1963

joy harmon trailers now showing

Watch the trailer for Joy Harmon's 1967 film Cool Hand Luke
filmstrip image
Back to Brian's Drive-In Theater
Click on the logo to go back to Brian's Drive-In Theater
This page premiered March 4, 2003.
Copyright and Disclaimer Information