Joan Trivia

  • She was born Madonna Josephine Davis on June 29th, 1912 in St Paul, Minnesota
  • Joan was performing as early as six years old, billed as "Cyclonic Josephine Davis" and "The Toy Comedienne".
  • In 1931, she teamed up with Serenus (Si) Wills, and they went on the road as "Wills and Davis".
  • They married later in 1931, and divorced in 1948.
  • Joan signed a stock contract with RKO Pictures in 1935, which they mutually termiated after one picture.
  • In 1936 she signed with 20th Century-Fox studio and made 24 films for them beween 1937 and 1941
  • By the end of 1938 she was making over $50,000 yearly from her film work.
  • In 1941 she was earning $50,000 per picture. By the mid 1940's, her fee was $75,000 per fim.

Joan's Secret Foot-Fetish?!

  • In 1945 her salary for her CBS radio program "Joanie's Tea Room" was $1 million a year.
  • "I Married Joan" first aired on Oct. 15, 1952 on NBC at 8:00, and ran for 98 episodes until Apri 6, 1955.
  • Her real-life daughter Beverly Wills played her TV sister, "Beverly Grossman".
  • Jim Backus (aka Mr. Magoo and Thurston Howell III) who played her husband Judge Bradey Stevens, also worked with Joan on radio.
  • In 1957 ABC announced a new series to be developed with Joan as the first female astronaut, but the idea was scrapped.
  • Although Barbra Streisand eventually portrayed the life of Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl", in the 1940's Brice had said, "There's one dame that could play me, that's Joan Davis."
Powered by WebTV