Joan Staley is a legendary film actress who rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s with appearances in films such as Playhouse 90 , Hawaiian Eye and her famous role in Broadside . Her first tentative entry was at the age of six as a child violinist, a skill she acquired after falling head over heels in love with the musical instrument that brought her a measure of success.
The diva ruled the screens in her prime, starring in Playboy magazine as Miss November 1958. She also made it as one of Hollywood Deb Stars’ twelve distinguished actresses for 1962. Joan Staley may be hiding from camera flashes now, but she’s still very much alive. Read on to find out where she is now, what she’s been up to lately, and other interesting things about her.
Joan Staley Biography
Joan Staley was named Joan Lynette McConchie after her birth on May 20, 1940 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father was a missionary minister known as James McConchie, while her mother, Jean McConchie, was a musician who played a variety of musical instruments including the organ, viola, and violin.
Staley grew up primarily in Los Angeles, California, where she received her elementary school. Due to her father’s professional demands, she moved in with him a lot and lived in several cities around the world. She attended high school in cities such as Chicago, Washington DC, Munich and Paris. After her family returned to the United States, she studied at Chapman College in Orange, California. After graduating from college, Joan Staley moved to San Francisco, where her father was currently stationed, and found work as a sole telegrapher with the William R. Stats brokerage firm.
career
When Joan Staley was only three years old, she went with her mother to a concert where she saw the violin being played for the first time and fell in love with the instrument. This necessitated the acquisition of her own violin by her mother, who also gave her a teacher to teach her how to play. After a few years, the young lady was quickly becoming a master and it was not surprising when she won an audition for Peter Meremblum’s Junior Symphony, making her first film appearance in Kaiser Walzer in 1948.
After college, Staley worked as a teletypewriter for the William R. Stats brokerage firm before venturing into film and television. Her career in the industry began with her entry in The Little Hollywood Theater, followed by stage plays such as The Robe, Brigadoon, and My Sister Eileen.
Joan Staley’s film debut was in the 1958 episode of Perry Mason The Fall of the Corresponding Corpse. Articles in TV series followed such as Laramie (1959), Hawaiian Eye (1959-1963) , The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966) , The New Phil Silvers Show, The Lively One (1960), Wagon Train (1962-1965) , 77 Sunset Strip (1958 – 1964), McHale’s Navy (1964) and its spin-off, Broadside ( 1964-1965) – a comedy series which made it even more popular.
Staley’s hot body and gorgeous personality made her Playboy magazine Miss November 1958 and of course she was one of the twelve actresses selected to be a Hollywood Deb Star in 1962.
The 5ft 5in actress continued to act in films such as Ocean 11 (1960), Midnight Lace (1960), The Ladies Man (1961) , Cape Fear (1962), Roustabout (1964), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) and Gun Violence (1966). Her brief but impactful acting career brought her net worth to an estimated $9 million.
Before
Joan Staley first married the famous television director – Charles Staley in August 1956 when she was 16 years old. Three years later their marriage produced a daughter named Sherrye Dee Staley who was born in 1959. Unfortunately, the two couldn’t take the pressures of marriage, so they separated in 1960.
After seven years as a single woman, Staley gave her marriage another shot when she married Frederick Dale Sheets, an executive at Music Corporation of American (MCA). They worked together to set up a company called International Ventures Incorporated where they source and manage young talent. Their marriage was blessed with three children; Their names are Stephanie and Greg (twins) and a daughter named Dina who they raised by her ex-husband along with three children by Dale Sheets and daughter by Joan Staley. In all, there were seven wonderful children that the couple had raised.
is she still alive And where is she now?
Joan Staley is still very much alive and is currently at home in Los Angeles surrounded by her family. She is now involved in consumer affairs and works hand-in-hand with her church for work at the Prisons Department. After sustaining an injury in a horseback riding accident in 1966, Staley limited her film appearances to just one television show.