Joan Evans, the daughter of accomplished screenwriters and the goddaughter of renowned actress Joan Crawford, has passed away at the age of 89. Her son, John Weatherly, confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.
Evans began her acting career with three films in which she starred opposite Farley Granger and later with Audie Murphy in a pair of Westerns. She also appeared in “On the Loose” (1951), a Charles Lederer-directed drama written by her parents, as well as “It Grows on Trees” (1952) where she portrayed Irene Dunne’s daughter. Additionally, she displayed her musical talents alongside Esther Williams in “Skirts Ahoy!” (1952) during their portrayal of U.S. Navy enlistees.
One of Evans’ notable roles was in “Roseanna McCoy” (1949), where she played Granger’s love interest as the eponymous character. The film was loosely based on the famous family feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Evans and Granger would collaborate again in “Our Very Own” and “Edge of Doom” in 1950. “Edge of Doom” was a dark film noir directed by Mark Robson.
Later in her career, Evans starred with Murphy in “Column South” (1953) and “No Name on the Bullet” (1959), directed by Fred De Cordova and Jack Arnold respectively.
Born Joan Katherine Eunson, she inherited her first name from Crawford and was born in New York on July 18, 1934. Her mother started her career as a journalist and publicist at MGM, where Crawford rose to fame. She often wrote articles about the legendary actress for Photoplay magazine. Evans mentioned in an interview that her mother and Crawford were best friends.
Evans was only 14 when she began working on “Roseanna McCoy” under producer Samuel Goldwyn, who had signed her to a contract in 1948. She replaced Cathy O’Donnell in the film after she married the brother of William Wyler, who was a former collaborator of Goldwyn and had recently established his own production company. During reshoots of the film, Evans was accidentally shot by Granger when a gun discharged in the hills outside Columbia, California. She underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalized.
Just after turning 18, Evans and her boyfriend Kirby Weatherly, who was a 26-year-old car dealer at the time, were invited to Crawford’s home for dinner. Unbeknownst to them, Crawford had planned for the couple to get married that night. She arranged for a judge to perform the ceremony, and Evans and Weatherly got married minutes after midnight on July 24, 1952. Despite being warned not to inform Goldwyn’s head of publicity about any unexpected events, Evans couldn’t resist and made the call that night. This caused her parents to be angry with Crawford, and they never spoke to her again.
There are speculations that Crawford went against her own goddaughter’s parents’ wishes because they had recently written the screenplay for “The Star” (1952). The film featured Bette Davis, who portrayed an aging actress desperate to revive her career, a character that Davis admitted was based on her rival Crawford.
Evans and Weatherly remained married until his death on January 1. Contrary to her parents’ skepticism, she believed their marriage was not a mistake. She maintained a close relationship with Crawford until her death in 1977 and claimed to have never witnessed any negative behavior resembling the infamous portrayals of Crawford as “Mommie Dearest.”
In addition to her film work, Evans appeared in several other movies and TV shows, such as “The Outcast” (1954), “A Strange Adventure” (1956), “The Flying Fontaines” (1959), and “The Walking Target” (1960). She also made appearances in various TV shows, including “Climax!,” “The Millionaire,” “Cheyenne,” “77 Sunset Strip,” “Wagon Train,” “Zorro,” “Tales of Wells Fargo,” “The Tall Man,” and “Laramie.”
Evans took a break from acting in the early 1960s to focus on her family. She later worked as an editor for Hollywood Studio Magazine and became a teacher at the Carden Academy in Van Nuys. Throughout this time, her parents continued writing and achieved success with projects like “All Mine to Give” (1957), “Gidget Goes to Rome” (1963), and multiple episodes of “Leave It to Beaver.”
Evans is survived by her son, John Weatherly, her daughter, Dale, and her grandson, Chris.
For the full article, please visit The Hollywood Reporter.
