Brenda Joyce (born Betty Graftina Leabo,[citation needed] February 25, 1917[4] – July 4, 2009)[5] was an American film actress. She was best known for playing Jane Porter in RKO's Tarzan films from 1945 to 1949.
Between her years in college and those in film, Joyce was a model for photographers. She appeared "in current magazines -- in new automobiles, using toothpaste, modeling shoes, smiling her way through the glossy life of a magazine girl."[7]
Film career
Although she appeared in many B-movies of the 1940s, she had a prominent supporting role in the major film The Rains Came (1939) opposite George Brent and Myrna Loy, and was cast as Maris Hanover in the film, Little Tokyo, U.S.A. (1942). She is best-remembered as the seventh actress to play Jane in the Tarzan series of films. She succeeded Maureen O'Sullivan in the series and appeared in the role five times.
Her first four appearances as Jane were opposite Johnny Weissmuller. However, her last performance as Jane, in Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), was with Lex Barker as Tarzan. Joyce and Karla Schramm, from the silent era, were the only two actresses to play Jane opposite two different actors playing Tarzan.[citation needed]
She retired from acting in 1949.
Later years
Joyce retired "at the peak of her career to raise a family."[8] Later, as Betty Ward, she became director of the Catholic Re-settlement Office in Monterey, California, and "helped hundreds of refugees find new lives in America."[8]
Personal life
She was married to Owen Ward, whom she had known "since her junior high school days,"[7] from 1941 until their divorce in 1960; they had three children, Pamela Ann, Timothy Owen and Beth Victoria.[citation needed]
^Other sources indicate 1912 or 1915 as her year of birth. A friend of Joyce's said after her death that she was 92, which would be consistent with a birth year of 1917.
^"Obituary in the News". Porterville Reporter. California, Porterville. Associated Press. July 23, 2009. p. 5. Retrieved June 2, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
