Joy Harmon

Joy Harmon
Harmon with Roger Smith in an episode of Mister Roberts, 1965.
Born
Joy Patricia Harmon

(1940-05-01) May 1, 1940 (age 84)
Flushing, New York, U.S.
Years active1956–1973
Known forCar washing girl in Cool Hand Luke
Spouse
​
(m. 1968⁠–⁠2001)​
Children3
Websitehttp://www.auntjoyscakes.com

Patricia Joy Harmon[1] or Joy Patricia Harmon (born May 1, 1940)[2] is an American baker and former actress.

Early years

The daughter of Homer Harmon, Joy Patricia Harmon was born in Jackson Heights, New York,[1] or Flushing, New York. She and her family moved to Connecticut in 1946. She was a Miss Connecticut,[2][when?] She tied for fourth runner-up in the 1957 competition for Miss Connecticut.[3][4]

When she was three years old, Harmon modeled clothes in Fox Movietone News newsreels.[1] She skipped two grades in elementary school and graduated from Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut.[1]

Career

Harmon's stage debut came in Pajama Tops at the Klein Memorial Theatre in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She toured the United States in stock company productions, including The Marriage-Go-Round, The Solid Gold Cadillac, The Tender Trap, The Importance of Being Ernest, and Susan Slept Here.[1] On Broadway, Harmon portrayed Betty Phillips in Make a Million (1958).[5] She also appeared in an off-Broadway production of Susan Slept Here (1961).[6]

Harmon was a contestant during the last season of Groucho Marx's television program You Bet Your Life (titled The Groucho Show during its last season), and later a regular on Marx's short-lived program Tell It to Groucho (credited as "Patty Harmon"). She guest-starred on several 1960s TV series, including Gidget, Batman, and The Monkees. She appeared in a cameo role as blonde Ardice in the Jack Lemmon comedy Under the Yum Yum Tree in 1963. She had a role as Tony Dow's girlfriend in the 1965–66 television soap opera Never Too Young.

Harmon's stand-out acting roles include the 30-foot-tall (9 m) Merrie in Village of the Giants (1965, in which she captures normal-sized Johnny Crawford and suspends him from her bikini top), and the car-washing Lucille in Cool Hand Luke (1967)[7] with her purportedly 41–22–36 measurements.[2]

Personal life

Harmon was married to film editor and producer Jeff Gourson from 1968 to 2001, raising three children. For a time, a son worked at Walt Disney Studios. She later established a bakery, Aunt Joy's Cakes, in Burbank, California.[8]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Patty Harmon Has Studied Long Time for Show Business Career". Corpus Christi Times. January 21, 1962. p. 52. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c Listanti, Tom (2008). Glamor Girls of Sixties Hollywood: Seventy-Five Profiles. McFarland & Co., Inc. pp. 87–88. ISBN 978-0-7864-3172-4. Retrieved June 29, 2017. Her amble [sic] bosom (41–22–36) was her ticket to Broadway in the comedy Make Me Laugh...
  3. ^ Mastronardi, Pete (May 6, 1957). "Crosses Fingers to Woo Luck, Crown Brings Joy, With Tears". The Bridgeport Post. p. 18. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Glenn, Taylor (July 14, 1957). "So This Is Our Town". Progress Bulletin. p. B - 2. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Joy Harmon". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  6. ^ "Joy Harmon". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Lucille Lortel Foundation. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  7. ^ "Catching up with the woman behind the famous 'Cool Hand Luke' car wash scene". Entertainment Weekly.
  8. ^ "About Us". Aunt Joy's Cakes. Archived from the original on August 20, 2013.