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Joan Dixon Profile
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| (Joan J. Dixon) |
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| 6 June 30 | is born in Norfolk, Virginia |
| 50 | signs an RKO contract |
| July 50 | is scheduled for the big star build-up by billionaire Howard Hughes |
| Late 51 | meets Ted Briskin, former husband of actress-singer Betty Hutton |
| Late September 52 | receives several long distance calls from Briskin |
| c. 19 October 52 | marries Theodore S. "Ted" Briskin in the chapel of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. When they call her family in Miami, her father can hardly believe the news. Like fellow actress Anita Ekberg, who had started making plans to marry Briskin in December, she will cheerfully give up her film career. He's 35; she's 22. |
| is very friendly with Candy and Lindsay, Ted's children from his former marriage to Betty Hutton |
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| November 52 | Briskin's announcement of a separation after only two and a half weeks of marriage comes as quite a shock. She says she doesn't know if she will resume her career. Briskin puts the blame on himself for the end of their marriage. |
| December 52 | her divorce case from Briskin is handled by Briskin's own lawyers, George Devor and Sidney Dorfman |
| retains lawyer Lloyd Wright |
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| January 53 | she and Briskin are expected to file heated countersuits in their contemplated divorce action. In mid-November 1952 they agreed that the marriage had been a big mistake and said the divorce proceedings would be conducted on friendly terms. But since then both have become exceedingly bitter, and now they threaten to slug it out in court. |
| will file a cross suit for divorce against Briskin in Illinois because she isn't a citizen of California |
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| is sued by Briskin, who claims she beat him twice. The suit will not be brought to trial. |
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| March 53 | goes to Miami to smooth things over with her family, who didn't like her quick marriage to Briskin |
| 13 November 53 | sues Briskin for divorce in Los Angeles, alleging that her marriage lasted only 21 days before he abandoned her last year |
| December 53 | has a new attorney, Ed Stanton, and is expected to file that long-expected divorce suit against Briskin. Briskin will marry actress Colleen Miller in 1955. |
| ? | divorces Briskin. Briskin will die at age 62 in 1980 in Los Angeles. |
| August 54 | is seen at the Sip n' Surf with Don Anderson |
| November 56 | is seen at the Sportsmen’s Lodge with TV writer Bill Driskill |
| December 56 | Louella Parsons notes her in a romantic mood at the Sportsmen’s Lodge with Roger Hutchinson, young advertising executive |
| June 57 | is seen at the Luau with Bill Holmes |
| November 57 | columnist Harrison Carroll reports: “Joan Dixon, once a Howard Hughes contractee, made her debut as a nightclub singer at the Flame in Phoenix...” |
| c. mid-58 | marries TV writer William L. Driskill. Both are about 28. |
| September 58 | Driskill moves out of their Hollywood home |
| February 59 | files for divorce from Driskill in Los Angeles claiming he informed her he couldn’t write his novel and be in love at the same time, so he moved out of their home. She obtains the home under a property settlement. She doesn’t say whether the novel was finished. The press gives his age as 29 and hers as 25. Driskill will marry actress Jane Wald in 1963 and die at age 76 in 2006 in Los Angeles. |
| March 59 | attends Sophie Tucker's Cocoanut Grove opening with producer Sy Bartlett |
| April 59 | she and Sy Bartlett are reported “the hottest duo in town” |
| August 59 | is seen at the Gourmet Beverly with producer Sy Bartlett |
| March 60 | Harrison Carroll writes: “And the man who dropped in late to take singer Joan Dixon to the Gaiety for scrambled eggs was Ray Allen of San Francisco...” |
| April 60 | is seen at La Rue’s with Serge Sassouni |
| Mid-May 60 | Walter Winchell claims: “Joan Dixon (the thrush at Dino’s) belongs on the major night spot circuit back East. Blue Angel, Bon Soir, Velvet Room and the other intime places can get her booked through this column...” |
| Winchell heralds that she now has an offer to be booked blind into the Bon Soir, Greenwich Village |
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| Early June 60 | Winchell tells: “New Yorkers are in for a treat to the eyes and ears when Joan Dixon (another WW orchid-wearer) debuts at Bon Soir, the 14th...” |
| August 60 | is noted roundtabling at El Morocco with Bob Ritchie |
| October 60 | Winchell writes: “If you see Joan Dixon tell her the soon-to-open Hampton East (at 40th and Lexington) wants her to headline there...” |
| November 60 | is reported making the owners of Hampton East happy |
| January 61 | Marcia Patterson throws a swinging party for her. Joan’s date is Bob Wasserman. Among the guests is Phyllis McGuire with New York attorney Bob Magainer. |
| February 62 | Harrison Carroll reports her back from New York and that she “quietly has been seeing her ex-husband, scenarist Bill Driskill, who just finished a job on Mutiny on the Bounty...” |
| 20 February 92 | as Joan J. Dixon, she dies at age 61 in Los Angeles, California |
| Sources: Kirk Crivello, Donald Bastien Archives, The New York Times, Syracuse Herald-American, The Holland Evening Sentinel, The Monessen Daily Independent, Nevada State Journal, The News, The Lethbridge Herald, The Vidette Messenger, The Daily Gleaner, Movieland, The Daily Chronicle, San Antonio Light, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Humboldt Standard, Burlington Daily Times-News, Kingsport News, www.Ancestry.com | |
| Recommended Books: | |
| Links: Filmography | |