Joyce Meadows

Joyce Meadows
Photo: David Kovar
Born
Joyce Johanna Burger

April 13, either 1933[1] or 1935[2]
Arrowwood, Alberta, Canada
Occupation(s)Film and television actress
Years active1956–1995
Spouse
Merrill Harrington
​
(m. 1984)​
[1]
Websitejoycemeadows.net

Joyce Meadows (born Joyce Johanna Burger; born April 13, 1933[1] or 1935[3]) is a Canadian-American film and television actress.[4]

Life and career

Meadows was born in Arrowwood, Alberta, later moving with her family to Montana and then California.[1][5] She worked as a singer while in high school, and was a winner of the Miss Sacramento pageant, after which she moved to Hollywood, California. She studied acting there under Jeff Corey, earning her scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse. Meadows moved to Los Angeles, California, where she began her screen career in the 1956 film Flesh and the Spur.[1]

Meadows guest-starred in numerous television programs, including Bachelor Father, 77 Sunset Strip, Harbor Command, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Restless Gun, Highway Patrol, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Millionaire, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Man and the Challenge, and Maverick. She also starred in the short-lived television series Two Faces West.[1] Meadows also appeared in films such as The Brain from Planet Arous, Frontier Gun, The Girl in Lovers Lane, Walk Tall, and Zebra in the Kitchen.[1] She retired in 1995 but later appeared in two short films: A Golightly Gathering (2009)[6] and Not the Same Old Brain (2022).


Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1956 Flesh and the Spur Rina Directed: Edward L. Cahn
1957 The Brain from Planet Arous Sally Fallon Directed: Nathan Juran
1958 Frontier Gun Peg Barton Directed: Paul Landres
1960 Walk Tall Sally Medford Directed: Maury Dexter
1960 The Girl in Lovers Lane Carrie Anders Directed: Charles R. Rondeau
1961 Back Street Model Directed: David Miller
1961 Breakfast at Tiffany's Party Guest Shaking Derrier in White Dress (Uncredited) Directed: Blake Edwards
1965 I Saw What You Did Judith Marak Directed: William Castle
1965 Zebra in the Kitchen Isobel Moon Directed: Ivan Tors
1970 The Christine Jorgensen Story Tani Directed: Irving Rapper
1990 Bad Influence Mrs. Fielding Directed: Curtis Hanson
1991 True Identity FBI Receptionist Directed: Charles Lane
1991 The Sitter (TV movie) Directed: Rick Berger
1992 Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story Woman at party Directed: Tom McLoughlin
1993 Murder of Innocence (TV movie) Carol Wade Directed: Tom McLoughlin
1994 The Postgraduate (short film) Barbara Porter Directed: Danny Salles
2022 Not the Same Old Brain (short film) Sally Fallon / Herself Directed: David Shecter

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1956–1957 Dr. Christian Mary / Ann

Season 1

  • Episode 12 (Cameraman)
  • Episode 20 (Vaccine)
1957 Highway Patrol Ella McKay Season 2 Episode 22 (Suspected Cop)
1957 The Web Janet Wiley Season 1 Episode 13 ("Fatal Alibi")
1957 General Electric Theater Miss Coulter Season 6 Episode 9 ("Imp on a Cobweb Leash")
1957–1962 Tales of Wells Fargo
  • Caroline
  • Mrs. Charley Mason
  • Flo Healey (as Dara Howard)
  • Season 1 Episode 11 (1957)
  • Season 2 Episode 36 (1958)
  • Season 6 Episode 19 (1962)
1958 U.S. Marshal Carol Robbins Season 1 Episode 36 ("The Kidnapper")
1958 Target ? Season 1 Episode 17 ("Murder is a Bottomless Well")
1958 Goodyear Theatre Miss Hansen Season 1 Episode 18 ("Disappearance")
1958 The Millionaire Ann Lawrance Season 4 Episode 25 ("Millionaire Neal Bowers")
1958 The Restless Gun Annie White Season 1 Episode 25 ("Sheriff Billy")
1958 Whirlybirds Mrs. Hobbs Season 2 Episode 2 ("The Ashley Case")
1958 Harbor Command Jane Kimberly Season 1 Episode 14 ("Yacht Club")
1958 Men of Annapolis Betty Season 1 Episode 23 ("Mister Fireball")
1958–1960 Bachelor Father
  • Myra Carter
  • Isabelle Coughan
  • Season 1 Episode 13 ("Bentley and the Social Worker") (1958)
  • Season 3 Episode 33 ("Bentley and the Blood Bank") (1960)
1959 M Squad Mrs. Jane Barkley Season 3 Episode 13 ("One of Our Armored Cars Is Missing")
1959 Men into Space Lynn Croydon Season 1 Episode 8 ("Asteroid")
1959 The Rough Riders Carolyn Miller Season 1 Episode 39 ("The Last Rebel")
1959 Richard Diamond, Private Detective Linda Graham Season 3 Episode 8 ("Marineland Mystery")
1959 Tombstone Territory Ellen
  • Season 2 Episode 3 ("Payroll to Tombstone")
  • Season 2 Episode 4 ("Day of the Amnesty")
1959 State Trooper Felina Meadows Season 2 Episode 41 ("The Silver Spiral")
1959 The Lineup Paula Adams Season 5 Episode 18 ("The Boylston Billing Case")
1959–1960 The Man and the Challenge Lynn Allen
  • Episode 1 ("Sphere of No Return") (1959)
  • Episode 11 ("The Breaking Point") (1959)
  • Episode 23 ("Buried Alive") (1960)
  • Episode 26 ("Hurricane Mesa") (1960)
  • Episode 30 ("The Dropper") (1960)
1959–1960 The Texan
  • Phyllis Herrick
  • Helen Castle
  • Season 1 Episode 33 ("South of the Border") (1959)
  • Season 2 Episode 31 ("Ruthless Woman") (1960)
1959–1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
  • Janice Wright
  • Frances Randall
  • Enid
  • Season 4 Episode 18 ("The Last Dark Step") (1959)
  • Season 4 Episode 30 ("A Night with the Boys") (1959)
  • Season 6 Episode 20 ("The Throwback") (1961)
1959–1963 77 Sunset Strip
  • Blaise Newsome
  • Jessica King
  • Marlene Saunders (as Dara Howard)
  • Season 2 Episode 3 ("Six Superior Skirts") (1959)
  • Season 2 Episode 33 ("Perfect Setup") (1960)
  • Season 5 Episode 14 ("The Tarnished Idol") (1963)
1959–1965 Perry Mason
  • Sylvia Welles
  • Carol Moray
  • Audrey Stempel
  • Season 3 Episode 7 ("The Case of the Golden Fraud") (1959)
  • Season 7 Episode 23 ("The Case of the Woeful Widower") (1964)
  • Season 8 Episode 15 ("The Case of the Frustrated Folksinger") (1965)
1960 Johnny Ringo Julie Season 1 Episode 24 ("Border Town")
1960 Wanted Dead or Alive Beth Morrison Season 3 Episode 11 ("One Mother Too Many")
1960 Lock-Up Diane Powell Season 1 Episode 20 ("The Case of Frank Crotty")
1960 The Dennis O'Keefe Show Lois Evans Season 1 Episode 18 ("Cypress Grade School")
1960 Markham Mary Stewart / Mrs. Arnold Carson Season 2 Episode 13 ("Sing a Song of Murder")
1960–1961 The Aquanauts
  • Barbara Nincel
  • Adrian
  • "Deep Escape" (1960)
  • "The Jeremiah Adventure" (1961)
1960–1961 Two Faces West Stacy

Season 1

  • Episodes 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 (1960)
  • Episodes 11,15,18,19,20,22,29,30,32,39 (1961)
1961 The Asphalt Jungle
  • Carol Shannon
  • Wilella Grant
  • Season 1 Episode 12 ("The Dark Night")
  • Season 1 Episode 27 ("Auntie's Cake")
1961 Michael Shayne Ann Wills Season 1 Episode 27 ("The Boat Caper")
1961 Sea Hunt Dorothy 'Dottie' Maybrook Season 4 Episode 1 ("Point of No Return")
1961 Cheyenne Madaline De Vier Season 6 Episode 3 ("Cross Purpose")
1961 Lawman
  • Elfreida Detweiler
  • Barbara Harris
  • Season 3 Episode 24 ("Detweiler's Kid")
  • Season 4 Episode 9 ("The Cold One")
1962 Maverick Linda Storey Season 5 Episode 8 ("Epitaph for a Gamble")
1962–1963 Sam Benedict
  • Gloria Gorman (as Dara Howard)
  • Cindy Wynn (as Dara Howard)
  • Season 1 Episode 9 ("Life Is a Lie, Love Is a Cheat") (1962)
  • Season 1 Episode 22 ("Some Fires Die Slowly") (1963)
1963 Kraft Suspense Theatre Aline

Season 1

  • Episode 1 ("The Case against Paul Ryker: Part 1")
  • Episode 2 ("The Case against Paul Ryker: Part 2")
  • Episode 9 ("The Hunt") ||
1963 Breaking Point Dr. Mady Miller (as Dara Howard) Season 1 Episode 1 ("Solo for B-Flat Clarinet")
1964 Slattery's People Gert Season 1 Episode 8 ("Question: Is Laura the Name of the Game?")
1965 Mona McCluskey Phyllis Blake Season 1 Episode 13 ("Stranger in the Love Nest")
1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Anna Season 3 Episode 23 ("Completely Foolproof")
1987 Punky Brewster Ms. Maytag Season 3 Episode 11 ("The Matchmaker")
1989 Rescue 911 Co-Star Directed: Ron Brody
1991 L.A. Law Foreperson Season 5 Episode 9 ("Splatoon")
1991 Santa Barbara Psych Ward Nurse
  • Episode #1.1758
  • Episode #1.1760
1992 The Golden Palace Mrs. Pinkerman Season 1 Episode 11 ("Camp Town Races Aren't Nearly as Much Fun as They Used to Be")
1995 Dream On Mrs. Swanson Season 6 Episode 13 ("Am I Blue")
2009 A Golightly Gathering Herself Short video 20 min. (as herself)

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
1997 I Stand Before You Naked Wealthy Lady West Coast Ensemble
The Glass Menagerie Amanda UCLA Shakespeare Perf.Group
A Scenario for the Oresteia Clytemestra West Coast Ensemble
Eddie Quinn Barbara World Premiere, West Coast Ensemble
Moliere’s ”Learned Ladies" Philamente West Coast Ensemble
Joint Return Ann (One Act Festival), West Coast Ensemble
Full Moon & High Tide Sybil Company of Angels
The Subject Was Roses Nettie Fig Tree Theater, George Hardy, Director
Dusk Before Fireworks Dorothy Parker works Company of Angels
Threads Jessie Company of Angels
Tumbleweed Junction Lil (original melodrama), Meridian Theater

Shakespeare

Year Title Role Notes
1951 Romeo & Juliet Lady Capulet CBS Television Studios
Notes for a Novel Shakespeare’s Sonnets In Performance (2-person original show)
The Winter’s Tale Paulina The Shakespeare Circle
Merry Wives of Windsor Mistress Page The Shakespeare Circle
Hamlet Gertrude West Coast Ensemble
Her Infinite Variety - A Celebration of Shakespeare’s Women Mistress Paige/Cleopatra West Coast Ensemble

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Aaker, Everett (May 25, 2017). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. pp. 297–298. ISBN 9781476662503 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ 1935, radaris/com. Accessed December 20, 2023.
  3. ^ 1935, radaris.com. Accessed December 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Ellingson, Steve (July 28, 1957). "Chaise Is Designed for Anyone's Curves". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 53. Retrieved October 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  5. ^ "Joyce Meadows is a Little Theatre Graduate". Lewiston Evening Journal. April 4, 1959. Retrieved October 10, 2021 – via Google Books. Open access icon
  6. ^ Clemens, Samuel (June 2023). "Joyce Meadows". Classic Images.