Brenda Joyce was an American actress who is best known for her roles in the Tarzan films, such as “Tarzan and the Amazons,” and “Tarzan and the Mermaids.” Born Betty Graffina Leabo on February 25, 1917, in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, she became a prominent figure in Hollywood during the 1940s.
Personal and Family Life
Brenda Joyce was married three times, with her first husband being Owen Ward, a soldier, with whom she had three children: Pam, Timothy, and Beth. They were married for 19 years before their divorce in 1960. Brenda had a close friendship with actress Gene Tierney, who was her maid of honor during her wedding. After her marriage to Ward, Brenda married and divorced two more times.
Career
Brenda started her career as a model and was discovered by a talent scout while attending UCLA. She made her acting debut in “The Rains Came” in 1939, receiving positive reviews. Brenda is best remembered for succeeding Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane in the Tarzan films, managing to work alongside both Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker during her time in the series.
Death and Legacy
Brenda Joyce passed away on July 4, 2009, in a nursing home in Santa Monica, California, due to complications from pneumonia. After leaving Hollywood in 1949, Brenda lived a quiet life and worked with refugee services for nearly a decade. Despite her earlier fame, she enjoyed relative anonymity in her later years and often spoke modestly about her film career.
Filmography
| Title | Release Date | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Confession | 1945-10-05 | Mary Carter |
| Little Giant | 1946-02-22 | Miss Ruby Burke |
| Pillow of Death | 1945-12-14 | Donna Kincaid |
| Tarzan and the Mermaids | 1948-05-15 | Jane |
| Tarzan and the Huntress | 1947-04-05 | Jane |
| The Spider Woman Strikes Back | 1946-03-22 | Jean Kingsley |
| Danger Woman | 1946-07-12 | June Spenser |
| Tarzan and the Amazons | 1945-04-29 | Jane |
| Tarzan and the Leopard Woman | 1946-02-18 | Jane |
| Whispering Ghosts | 1942-05-17 | Betty Woods |
| Little Tokyo, U.S.A. | 1942-07-08 | Maris Hanover |
| The Rains Came | 1939-09-15 | Fern Simon |
| Tarzan’s Magic Fountain | 1949-02-05 | Jane |
| Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | 1983-02-25 | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| The Enchanted Forest | 1945-12-08 | Anne |
| Little Old New York | 1940-02-09 | Harriet Livingston |
| Maryland | 1940-07-19 | Linda |
| Here I Am a Stranger | 1939-09-29 | Simpson Daniels |
| Public Deb No. 1 | 1940-09-13 | Penny Cooper |
| Marry the Boss’s Daughter | 1941-11-28 | Fredericka Barrett |
| The Postman Didn’t Ring | 1942-07-03 | Julie Martin |
| Thumbs Up | 1943-07-05 | Louise Latimer |
| I’ll Tell the World | 1945-06-08 | Lorna Gray |
| 10,000 Kids and a Cop | 1948-10-01 | Narrator |
| Show-Business at War | 1943-05-21 | Self |
| Stepchild | 1947-06-07 | Dale Bullock |
| Private Nurse | 1941-08-22 | Mary Malloy |
| Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 | 1941-08-15 | Self |