A Birthday Tribute to Joyce Reynolds

Charming actress Joyce Reynolds was born in Detroit October 7, 1924.

Reynolds was only in films from 1942 to 1950, almost entirely at Warner Bros., but she's someone I always enjoy and am happy to see.

Her first significant role, after a bit in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942), was playing Ann Sheridan's kid sister in GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE (1942). She's seen here with William Tracy:

Next she had one of her most significant roles, managing to stand out in the very large cast of THE CONSTANT NYMPH (1943). Joyce played Paula Sanger, the sister closest to Joan Fontaine's Tessa.

Fontaine and Reynolds are seen here with Brenda Marshall, playing their older sister Toni:

In 1944 Reynolds played the title role in JANIE (1944), seen here with Robert Hutton:

My favorite Reynolds film, which I've seen multiple times, is WALLFLOWER (1948), in which Reynolds and Janis Paige play competitive yet loving stepsisters. Paige plays the flashy, boy-crazy Joy while Reynolds is the quieter Jackie.

Reynolds and Paige are seen here in WALLFLOWER with Edward Arnold and Barbara Brown as their parents:

Reynolds' last film was GIRLS' SCHOOL (1950) for Columbia Pictures.

There's not a great deal of information available regarding Reynolds' offscreen life, other than she was at one time a student at UCLA.

She had a brief marriage to Lt. Robert Lewis in 1945. In 1947 she married Don Gallery, the son of silent film star Barbara La Marr; when La Marr died in 1926 her son had been adopted by Zasu Pitts and her husband, Tom Gallery.

Reynolds and Gallery's marriage lasted four years. I found some info on Gallery here; of his marriage to Reynolds, he simply said "We were young." Reynolds' last husband was named Arthur White.

There are charming press photos of Reynolds with her baby daughter Joy, who seems to have been from her first marriage, but I'm not certain of that as I've tried to patch together the few dates I can find. Wikipedia, not always the most reliable source, says that Reynolds had one more child.

The above is the extent of the information I've been able to locate to this point on this delightful actress. If anyone has any additional information on her life, I would be most interested.

I've not been able to find an obituary, so assuming she's still with us she is turning 98 today!

Update: Sincere thanks to the anonymous commenter who shared the information that Joyce Reynolds White passed away in Los Angeles on September 24, 2019.  She was just a couple weeks shy of her 95th birthday.

Since I wrote this tribute, Reynolds' Wikipedia page has been updated with not only her date and place of death but her marital history.  

Joyce Reynolds movies reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE (1942), THE CONSTANT NYMPH (1943), THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS (1943), THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN (1944), JANIE (1944), WALLFLOWER (1948) (also here).

Reynolds' other films not previously mentioned above were the short SWEETHEART SERENADE (1943), playing herself in HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN (1944), and starring in ALWAYS TOGETHER (1947), opposite her JANIE and WALLFLOWER costar Robert Hutton. Her final screen credit was a 1951 TV appearance on THE BIGELOW THEATRE.

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