Where It All Began

Picture it: Hollywood, California, sometime in 1997. I'm a tourist on my first trip to the iconic Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. Me and my boyfriend take a detour into a little autograph and memorabilia store called STARWORLD. Although they have an impressive array of signed, framed photos on the walls, my eye is drawn to a little box on the floor marked “Clearance.” I crouch down and leaf through the glossy 8 by 10s in the box, seeing a bunch of has-beens, never was-es and forgotten child actors from the ’70s and ’80s. Near the bottom, however, I spy a diamond in the rough—an autograph from my favorite “dumb blonde” of Hollywood’s Golden Era, Joyce Compton. In the photo, she is wearing a chiffon dress with a spray of fake lilacs on the bodice, a lacy negligee partically obscured by sheer layers of gown fabric. Joyce’s curly handwriting matches her blonde hair, and it matched the images I recalled from old movies—cute and bubbly. Priced at seven dollars, it became my first Hollywood souvenir.

Little did I know it at the time, but that photo sparked a decades-long deep dive into Joyce and her world. Back in 1997, what I knew about Joyce amounted to one movie—her memorable turn as the untalented nightclub performer who served as Cary Grant’s rebound girl after he separated from Irene Dunne in the screwball comedy, The Awful Truth (the autographed photo I bought was a publicity shot from that very film, coincidentally). I vaguely remember watching her in a few other films, but I couldn’t name any of them.

Once I got back home to Phoenix, I checked out Joyce’s page on the Internet Movie Database. I was surprised at how prolific she was as an actress. In a career spanning from the silent era to the dissolution of the studio system in the ’60s, she notched at least 150 credits. While some of these credits were near the top of the billing list (especially early on), most appeared to be bit parts or uncredited roles. As my research deepened, I found out that she had many admirable qualities. She had a good head on her shoulders, she loved her parents, and she appeared to avoid the usual pitfalls of celebrity. She also had strong moral values, which may have been a factor in her getting less-than-stellar roles later on (no casting couch for this lady). Digging into her life was like getting to know a friend from another era.

That brings us up to 2024, and the startling revelation that I’ve been fanning on Miss Compton for more than 25 years! Here's to 25 more, Joycie.