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Joan Freeman (actress)

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Joan Freeman
Freeman (center) with Marilyn Maxwell and Rhodes Reason in ABC's Bus Stop
Born
Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S.
EducationJohn Burroughs High School
Occupation(s)Film and television actress
Years active1949–1994
Known for
Spouse(s)
Frank C. Beetson, Jr.
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1967)​

Bruce Kessler[1]

Joan Leslie Freeman is a retired American actress. Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, she started her career as a child actress in the 1949 television series Sandy Dreams before making her film debut with the western Pistol Harvest. Starting from 1961, she appeared in TV series and films like Bus Stop, Panic in Year Zero!, and Tower of London, and in 1962 was nominated as Most Promising New Star in the film magazine Photoplay. In 1964, she played alongside Elvis Presley in Roustabout, and earned another Photoplay Gold Medal nomination. Her last acting role was in 1994.

Early life

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Freeman was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa.[2] She attended Mother Cabrini School in Burbank, California,[3] and later attended John Burroughs High School where she graduated in 1959.[4]

Career

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Freeman started as a child actress, having appeared in the 1949 television series Sandy Dreams, along with Richard Beymer and Jill St. John. Her first film role was in Pistol Harvest (1951), where she had a small part playing the lead actress' character as a child. At fourteen, she played the character Jeannie Harlow in the 1956 episode "The Frontier Theatre" of the ABC western series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, with Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

In 1961–62, Freeman was cast in 26 episodes as the young waitress Elma Gahrigner, in the ABC drama series Bus Stop, in a role that gave her some prominence.[5] After Bus Stop, she appeared in guest-starring roles on the NBC modern western series, Empire, with Richard Egan and on the ABC/Warner Brothers western, The Dakotas. She also played defendant Jennifer Wakely in Perry Mason's, "The Case of the Fickle Filly" in 1962.

In 1962, Freeman was cast as Marilyn Hayes in the post-atomic war black-and-white classic film Panic in Year Zero! alongside veteran film stars Ray Milland and Jean Hagen.[5] Alabama newspaper The Anniston Star described Freeman as "lovely" in the part.[6]

Also in 1962, she appeared in the quasi-historical film Tower of London with Vincent Price. Her work to that point was enough to gain her a Photoplay Gold Medal nomination from Photoplay film magazine as Most Promising New Star (Female).[7] That was followed up by being named as a Hollywood Deb Star in 1963.[7]

In 1963, Freeman was cast as American tourist Amelia Carter in The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze.[7]

In 1964, Freeman played the role of Elizabeth Dunn secretary to Dr. James Stone in the episode "Behold, Eck!" in the TV series The Outer Limits. She co-starred in The Rounders, a 1965 comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Max Evans.

Freeman is perhaps best known for her roles in two musical films. In 1964, she was the love interest of Elvis Presley in Roustabout. There she played the "good girl" pursuing Elvis and competing against a vixen type played by Sue Ane Langdon, all the while being stuck in arguments with her father, a bitter carnival hand played by Leif Erickson.[7] Variety magazine said that "Miss Freeman hasn't much to do except wring her hands ... but does it prettily."[7] In 1964 Freeman received a Photoplay Gold Medal nomination for Best Female Star.[7]

Freeman also made a number of guest appearances on different television shows from the 1950s through the 1980s including National Velvet, Family Affair, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Bonanza.

In 1966, Freeman guest starred on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in "The Bat Cave Affair". She appeared four times on the NBC western series The Virginian. Her last motion picture performance came as "Mrs. Jarvis" in the 1984 horror film, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. In 1994, Freeman appeared as an actress for the last time in an episode of the TV series Renegade.

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Joan Freeman - the Private Life and Times of Joan Freeman. Joan Freeman Pictures".
  2. ^ Lisanti, Tom (2003). Drive-in Dream Girls : A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 246. ISBN 0-7864-1575-4.
  3. ^ "Fox West Coast Quest: Joan Freeman Captures Talent Contest at Van Nuys Theatre". The Van Nuys News. p. 11. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Christopher, Bill (January 17, 1959). "On Campus Tonight: Concert Choir Stages Musicale". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. p. 5. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Local Screen in Review: Panic in Year Zero". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. September 22, 1962. p. B-3 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Double Feature Due on Screen at the Midway". The Anniston Star. February 3, 1963. p. 6-B – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Lisanti, Tom (2003). Drive-in Dream Girls: A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 249.
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