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Joi Lansing Profile
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Photo gallery |
| (Joy Rae Brown) |
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| 6 April 29 | is born at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of devout Mormons Jack Glenn Brown, a shoe salesman, and his wife Virginia Grace Brown, nee Shupe |
| ? | her parents divorce |
| ? | her mother marries Vernon Loveland |
| ? | Loveland adopts her, making her Joy Loveland |
| 20 December 40 | her half-brother, Larry Vernon Loveland, is born in Los Angeles |
| November 42 | as Joy Loveland, she poses at age 13 poolside in Los Angeles with fellow model Alberta Gold. The press claims both are from Miami Beach, Florida. |
| c. 46 | when she’s approximately 17, she marries a young guy |
| ? | gets divorced |
| ? | attends MGM's studio talent school at age 17 |
| ? | MGM suggests she change her name from Loveland to Lansing |
| February 48 | Mickey Rooney sees her almost every evening. Their favorite table-for-two spot is the Dell's restaurant. |
| March 48 | is seen at Ciro's with Rooney |
| columnist Erskine Johnson reports seeing her and Rooney at a cocktail party when his estranged wife walks in with Buddy Baker. “The party was for a new perfume called Shameless." |
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| July 48 | she and fellow model Pat Vaniver sport the same measurements: They are both five feet, six inches tall, weigh 115 pounds, and have a 36-inch bust, 33-inch hips, and a 23-inch waist. |
| November 48 | columnist Edith Gywnn reports: “We note that good looking and successful lawyer Bentley Ryan is beating attractive man Arnold Kunody’s time with beauteous Joy Lansing...” |
| 28 March 49 | is on the cover of Life |
| April 49 | she and George Raft are a duet |
| June 49 | is a Goldwyn Girl |
| is reported being discovered by James Cross, ex-groom of actress Peggy Ryan |
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| September 49 | goes places with Arthur Loew, Jr., former escort of actress Janet Leigh |
| October 49 | is a twosome with Mayor Stanley Church of New Rochelle, New York |
| 50 | is crowned “Miss Hollywood” |
| c. 50 | is considered for a small part in All About Eve. The role finally goes to fellow newcomer Marilyn Monroe. |
| 3 March 50 | she and Western sales manager for Columbia Pictures Jerome "Jerry" Safron elope on a plane for Acapulco / Juarez, Mexico, to be married. He's 55; she's 20. Her mother, Virginia Loveland Gray, says that the couple told her that they planned a brief honeymoon in Mexico before returning to Hollywood. The press tells it's the second marriage for each. Safron was married at least three times before, among his wives actress and bathing contest winner Nancy Cornelius, with whom he had twins, Nancy Katherine and Patricia Ann. His marriage to actress-singer 23-year-old Betty Wells ended in divorce in May 1949. |
| 15 July 50 | files for divorce from Safron in Los Angeles Superior Court after a 4-month-marriage. She charges extreme cruelty and asks $525 per month alimony, estimating her husband's fortune in excess of $500,000. |
| 7 August 50 | the press tells that "film executive Jerome Safron found himself in more judicial hot water today as the result of his ‘invalid’ Mexican marriage to model Joy Lansing. Safron's first wife had him found in contempt of court for non-payment of child support, and Superior Judge Mildred L. Lillie gave him until August 21 to pay $1400 in arrears. Safron's first wife, Mrs. Nancy Cornelius Brown Safron Williams, brought the name of Miss Lansing into the court action by pointing out that Safron had spent $22,000 in his four-month marriage to the model. The film executive admitted the expenditures but insisted that $13,000 paid for his ill mother's surgery in New York caused the delay in payments to Mrs. Williams. Judge Lillie two weeks ago denied Miss Lansing temporary alimony from Safron on the ground their marriage was not legal because at the time Safron had not been legally divorced from a Denver woman." |
| August 50 | columnist Dorothy Manners tells that Joy and Safron "met twice to talk over their marriage headaches. They are not making up. But the rift will be friendly instead of the battle it threatened to be..." |
| September 50 | the press tells that "the new girl on the N. T. G. shows over KTSL is Joy Lansing, formerly with MGM and Hal Roach movie studios." |
| October 50 | her ex, Safron, is seen out with Ann McCormack, the ex of Jackie Coogan |
| ? | gets an annulment from Safron. Safron will remarry and die at age 71 in June 1966 in Portland, Oregon. |
| 10 February 51 | elopes with young actor Lance Fuller to Las Vegas. He's 22; she's 21. A pal of her is quoted by the press: "They said they were flying to Utah to get her grandfather's blessing." |
| March 51 | she and Fuller are parted by the Army |
| November 51 | has a flaming battle with Fuller at Ciro's. Shortly afterwards, everything's okay. She confirms: "We were terribly embarrassed. It was the first time it ever happened in public." |
| July 52 | the Army grabs her husband |
| 10 September 52 | she and Fuller separate. Afterwards she's a bachelor girl living in Burbank and attending UCLA. |
| September 52 | is seen at the Captain's Table with Sam Coslow. She and Coslow have to hide around the corner to avoid running into Fuller, her estranged husband. |
| October 52 | gives a cocktail party in her swank new apartment. Among her guests: Denise Darcel with Gould Morrison, Debbie Smith with Jerry Bialac, and Dusty Miller with Joe Perrin. The same night, Fuller is night-clubbing with fellow actress Jody Lawrance but asks several friends to check on Joy's soiree. |
| ? | is involved with actor Larry Chance. During her relationship with Chance she dates billionaire Howard Hughes one time. When Chance learns about that tryst, he interferes. |
| November 52 | is seen at the Captain's Table with actor Larry Chance |
| December 52 | her estranged husband is steady dating actress Pat Knight, the ex of Cornel Wilde. At a Hollywood party Joy and Pat come face-to-face, and there is a tense moment, but the ice turns into smiles and a heart-to-heart chat. |
| January 53 | is expected to divorce Fuller in Reno, Nevada |
| a national magazine features a two-page photographic layout on the perfect Hollywood marriage of her and Lance Fuller, even though they separated months ago |
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| April 53 | will establish residence in Las Vegas for her divorce from Fuller |
| September 53 | she and Fuller sign their legal separation papers, but there is no divorce yet |
| Mid-November 53 | files suit for divorce in superior court claiming Fuller stayed out all night gambling. "When I asked him where he had been, he told me it was none of my business." She asks no alimony or community property division. Fuller will die at age 73 in 2001 in Los Angeles. |
| February 54 | is expected to marry bit player Larry Chance the day after her divorce decree is final |
| Mid-50s | changes her first name from Joy to Joi |
| c. 58 | Orson Welles casts her for his Touch of Evil at an audition with hundreds of girls. When he sees her, he says: "Where have you been? Tell all the other girls to go." |
| March 59 | columnist Walter Winchell knows: "TVenus Joi Lansing adores the color of Robert Gateway's orbs. He's a cattle tycoon in Texas..." |
| May 59 | the press claims that she and Frank Sinatra are very close friends and intend to keep it that way |
| columnist Earl Wilson tells that she "often dates Frank Sinatra" |
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| ? | has a long affair with Frank Sinatra |
| June 59 | the press heralds that as a member of the Mormon Church she uses no tobacco, alcohol, tea or coffee |
| attends the new hit act of Betsy Duncan and Duke Mitchell at the Encore Room with Stan Todd |
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| c. 60 | her mother marries Carlton Wasmansdorff, owner of a citrus ranch in Santa Paula, California |
| debuts at New York’s Living Room Club |
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| January 60 | becomes a frequent twosome with Stan Todd |
| March 60 | is expected to become engaged to Stanley Todd, her "very personal manager..." |
| 3 June 60 | she and Todd, "a Los Angeles investment broker," show off her five-carat engagement ring in Hollywood. The press claims it will be her second and his first marriage. |
| 18 June 60 | her father, Glen Jack Brown, dies at age 60 |
| 1 August 60 | she and Stan Todd, her finance manager, take out a marriage license in Los Angeles. She says Todd owns 25 percent of her earnings as her manager, but "after our wedding Friday, he’ll own 125 percent of me." |
| 3 August 60 | at the Casa Madrid, she and Todd announce they will marry August 5. Judge Edward Brand will officiate. |
| 5 August 60 | marries Stanley Laurence Todd at the home of a friend of hers in Beverly Hills. They plan to honeymoon for ten days on a friend's yacht off the coast of Mexico. He's 42; she's 31. The press gives his age as 37; hers as 24. Todd's a successful clothing salesman and an excellent tennis player. He has two daughters from a former marriage. |
| Late August 60 | columnist Louella Parsons notes Joi and Todd celebrating their anniversary of "two weeks" with dinner for two at the Sportsmen's Lodge |
| January 61 | is reported winding up being one of the most photographed gals of the year |
| February 61 | columnist Lee Mortimer asks: "What's to the rumors of actress Joi Lansing and her new husband, Stan Todd? Not already!" |
| March 61 | there are rumors she and Todd will date the stork |
| November 61 | she and Fabian are among those twisting at the Harwyn |
| Wilson tells: "Joi Lansing was a stickout (in lots of ways) at the Colony, celebrating a TV pilot, 'How to Get Your Man and Hold Him'..." |
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| December 61 | Todd is reported producing TV shows with her |
| January 63 | attends dancing classes for charity, conducted by singer-dancer Eartha Kitt. The proceeds from the classes are donated to the Syanon House, a non-profit organization in Santa Monica. Other members of the class are Karen Dolin, Jeannie Said, Bobbie Adair, Marge Meade, Barbara Wiener, and Eileen O'Neill. |
| ? | her closest friend is non-pro Marge Meade, a friend of singer Eartha Kitt |
| July 63 | Wilson writes "Joi Lansing, the NBC doll in Hollywood, who drinks 'tiger milk' for her health, also goes in the nude swimming for same..." |
| August 63 | she and Todd are reported spending a week as the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall at their home at Bald Mountain, Troy, New York |
| December 63 | she, Pat Buttram, Rose-Marie, and Perry Botkin will give a Salute to Abe Martin at the Indiana Society's dinner in Chicago |
| March 64 | is reported having won $80 at Roosevelt Raceway "playing number 6 in every race: 'I feel very sixy tonight'..." |
| April 64 | is stretched rigid between two chairs at Basin Street by hypnotist Pat Collins |
| substitutes for Abbe Lane with the Xavier Cugat Orchestra. "Funny that Coogie got somebody built much the same as Abbe..." |
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| c. mid-64 | performs in "Web of Love," "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else," and "The Silencer," three of the first Scopitones, campy jukebox videos |
| June 64 | turns photographer at the Pen and Pencil for an executive meeting of the Flight for Sight organization |
| July 64 | columnist Dorothy Kilgallen reports her and estranged husband Todd "to be effecting a quiet reconciliation..." |
| 7 September 64 | her beloved grandfather, Andrew Ray Shupe, dies at age 79 in Santa Clara, California. She will never get over his death. Her husband Stanley Todd reminds her of him. |
| October 64 | she and Sandu Scott are taken by fashion designer William Norton, Jr., to see female impersonator Lynne Carter |
| is among the ringsiders at Lynn Carter's closing night at the Bon Soir. Others are Sammy Davis, Jr., Beatrice Lillie, and Constance Bennett. |
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| at Danny's she tells Earl Wilson that the New York Giants footballers made her mascot and gave her a sweater |
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| December 64 | Louella Parsons heralds that Joi's "abandoning her nightclub act to appear opposite George Hamilton in Project 22 for producer Stanley Todd and John Shelton. Picture will be filmed in Egypt for international release. Before this, Joi guest stars on 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Ozzie and Harriet' shows..." |
| c. mid-60s | she and Todd separate. They will remain friends and be in contact for the rest of her life. |
| January 65 | attends ABC’s cocktail party thrown at Grossinger’s Hotel and Country Club at Lake Placid |
| will headline at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal for four weeks starting January 25 |
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| Early March 65 | Walter Winchell hints: "Joi Lansing, starlet, co-starring in an off-stage drama not yet made public..." |
| March 65 | Sinatra asks her to return to Los Angeles when her part in his Marriage on the Rocks is expanded |
| attends the Saks Fifth Avenue preview collection of Academy Award gowns |
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| is scheduled to return to Manhattan after completing Marriage on the Rocks in California. In Manhattan, she'll record her first album for RCA-Victor, "whose executives are most enthusiastic about her singing ability. (And what an LP cover she'll make!)" |
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| ? | cuts her first record album with songs written especially for her by composer Jimmie Haskell and actress Stella Stevens |
| April 65 | becomes a top nightclub act. She took up singing a few years ago during the actors’ strike and found a new career. |
| ? | does the New York hotel circuit singing at the America, Waldorf-Astoria, Hilton Hotel, and the Living Room |
| May 65 | performs at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco with "Yoneley, the International humorist..." |
| she and Todd are reported "togethering again on the West Coast..." |
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| July 65 | will be featured at the Copa with Joe E. Lewis on September 9 |
| September 65 | she and manager Ray Evans have a candlelight-for-two at King Henry IV |
| October 65 | performs at the Persian Terrace of the Hotel Syracuse from October 19 through 23 |
| Winchell notes her "at the St. Moritz lobby phones..." |
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| 19 October 65 | opens at the Persian Terrace of Hotel Syracuse, New York City |
| December 65 | columnist Harrison Carroll tells: "At the Luau, jumping as usual, Stan Todd didn't seem to be torching for estranged wife Joi Lansing. He looked very happy with pretty Marci Mann..." |
| March 66 | Carroll's back to her: "Actress-singer Joi Lansing and estranged husband Stan Todd reconciled when she returned here to shoot a TV show: ' We have a new home in the valley (Woodland Hills),' Stan told me, 'with tennis courts, stables, and what have you.' The pair split up, but Joi never got around to filing a divorce suit. Main trouble was Joi's continual absence on night club tours. And that's going to keep on, but they think they can handle it now..." |
| June 66 | sends a wire to Senator Everett Dirksen, famous for his baritone, asking him to record some duets with her |
| will be tested for the feminine role in a new TV series titled "I Cover the Water Front" |
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| November 66 | a Los Angeles mail order company, the Howard Diamond Company, offers free pinups of her in its service publications. There are thousands of requests, and she becomes one of the favorite pinup models of the Vietnam War. |
| Early December 66 | Dorothy Manners reports that Joi, "back from weeks of headlining the show at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, walks into a new movie. She's picked off the femme lead in the Woolner Brothers' Ghost Party, which Jean Yarbrough is directing. From this, Joi just about meets her starting date on Heart of Darkness, the Joseph Conrad novelette, which she'll make for Bob Lippert..." |
| End December 66 | is reported back from a nationwide tour of US cities "to sing and dance and showcase her blonde-topped 37-24-35 charms." She entertained in New York, Las Vegas, Hot Springs, Dallas, and Louisville. |
| 67 | is named "Miss Armed Forces Day Of The World" |
| January 67 | Harrison Carroll tells that she and Todd bought a home in Grandville, Massachusetts, "and will ship the antique furniture to their place in Hollywood..." |
| May 67 | Earl Wilson reports: "Bobby Hackett introduced Joi Lansing at Shepherd's - and she got up and sang..." |
| July 67 | Lucille Ball and Gary Morton give a dinner party for her at Stefanino's. Her escort is her manager, Lee Wolfberg. |
| Mid-December 67 | Harrison Carroll knows: "Joi Lansing and estranged husband Stan Todd had a last dinner together at the Tail O' The Cock, but the reconciliation didn't work out. She instructed attorney Milton Golden to file suit for divorce..." |
| Late December 67 | she with Lee Wolfberg are among the first nighters at singer Grant Griffin's re-opening at Dino's Lodge |
| 68 | is on the Memphis stage for eight weeks with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes |
| Mid-April 68 | is noted helping Milton Golden to celebrate his birthday at The Factory. "She still has no date to file that divorce suit against estranged husband Stan Todd..." |
| Harrison Carroll tells: "Same night at the Luau, Joi Lansing celebrated her birthday with estranged husband Stan Todd, Nancy Czar and attorney Milton Golden. But when I saw her the next night at Stefanino's Joi was with Norman Bare..." |
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| End April 68 | she and Charles Tracy are a twosome around town at Stefanino's |
| July 68 | is the date of Trini Lopez at the Greek Theater |
| August 68 | she and George Jessel are a twosome around town at Stefanino's |
| December 68 | Harrison Carroll tells: "At Frank Sinatra's request, Joi Lansing flew to Las Vegas to see Frank at Caesar's Palace. Could be they are talking pictures..." |
| 69 | drives a white ’69 Cadillac El Dorado with a black top |
| resides in an apartment in West Hollywood |
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| meets 22-year old aspiring actress Nancy Hunter on the set of Bigfoot. Soon they become inseparable, claiming to be sisters. Both are blonde and green-eyed. Joi's mother treats Nancy as a daughter. |
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| introduces Nancy to comedian Joey Bishop, and he decides that she does not look like a "Nancy" but more like a "Rachel." So from that point on, she is known as Rachel Lansing. |
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| she and Rachel are out almost every night. Their favorite place is Nate n Al's, a Jewish deli in Beverly Hills. She never smokes but enjoys dining, loving salads and Italian food. |
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| January 69 | Harrison Carroll's back to her: "Only a few weeks ago Joi Lansing told me that she had definitely decided to get the divorce from husband Stan Todd. But she and Stan acted lovey-dovey at Stefanino's..." |
| Summer 69 | is in Follies Burlesque ‘69 in Latham, New York |
| Mid-December 69 | in a see-through dress she sits next to Earl Wilson at the AGVA Youth Fund Salute to Harold J. Gibbons. Mrs. James Hoffa gets a standing ovation. |
| End December 69 | is on stage at the Thunderbird in Las Vegas performing Come Blow Your Horn with Jackie Coogan and Selma Diamond |
| c. 70 | moves alone into a penthouse apartment at Fountain View West, a Los Angeles high-rise |
| February 70 | substitutes for ailing Lainie Kazan at the Sahara, Las Vegas, "and hotel bosses now want to sign her for the hotel's stable of stars..." |
| ? | she and Rachel are off to New York, where they stay for a year, first at a South Central Park hotel, then at ParcV, an apartment building owned by Joi's friend Herbie Palestine. Joi guests on Dave Garroway's TV show, filmed in Boston. |
| ? | is on the New York stage with Mickey Hargitay in a spoof on burlesque |
| ? | she and Rachel are photographed by New York's top glamour photographer, Maurice Seymour; it will be Joi's last photo shoot |
| ? | during her stay in New York, she notices a pain in the breast and contacts a doctor upon her return to Los Angeles |
| Summer 70 | learns that she has a cancerous tumor and undergoes surgery at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. She briefly recuperates. |
| ? | Todd pays for her medical bills; she is still on his medical insurance policy as his wife |
| ? | when Todd buys a house in Palm Springs, Joi and Rachel move in. They also share a lovely apartment in Marina del Rey. |
| ? | has a gig on a Caribbean cruise ship going to Nassau. Rachel accompanies her. It turns out to be a disaster because the two are the only girls aboard. |
| Summer 72 | she and Rachel reside at Mariner's Village in Marina del Rey |
| is scheduled for the lead in Follies at New Jersey's Meadowbrook Theater, but illness forces her to cancel |
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| July 72 | is admitted to the hospital for undisclosed reasons. She had undergone surgery there two years ago for cancer. |
| 7 August 72 | as Joi Lansing Todd, she dies at age 43 at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. Only Rachel is at her side. She is survived by her husband, Stan Todd of Los Angeles; her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Wasmansdorff of Santa Paula; and a brother, Larry Loveland of Canoga Park, California. The press gives her age as 37. |
| 8 August 72 | her services are held at 2 p.m. in Santa Paula, California |
| 11 August 72 | is buried at Santa Paula Cemetery, Plot 444, Section N. Many show people attend her funeral. Joi had not seen Sinatra in years, but he sends flowers. Her brother and Bob Slatzer, her director in Bigfoot, are pallbearers. Slatzer received death threats because of his book about Marilyn Monroe, so the FBI and other police are there guarding him. |
| 30 August 72 | her will is filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Her entire estate goes to her 49-year-old husband, Stanley Todd, of Marina del Rey. The will gives no estimate of her total wealth. |
| 22 November 75 | Carlton Wasmansdorff dies at age 71 in Santa Paula, California, and is buried next to her |
| Mid-70s | Todd buys a restaurant in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, and Rachel becomes the manager |
| 1 January 84 | as Virginia Grace Wasmansdorff, her mother dies at age 75 in Santa Paula, California |
| 11 January 84 | her mother is buried in the same plot |
| 17 December 85 | Stanley Todd dies at age 67 in Los Angeles in his sleep. He never remarried. |
| 95 | her stepdaughter Leslie B. Todd remembers her as "a fabulous person, very sweet, kind, and totally unpretentious" |
| 07 | her friend Rachel Lansing remembers her as "an angel and a pure person. Her innocence was never destroyed by the studios." |
| 15 | Rachel Lansing publishes their story "Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For" at Bear Manor Media |
| Sources: Rachel Lansing, Comfort and Joi by Joseph Dougherty, Kirk Crivello, John Shupe at www.ancientfaces.com, Herald-Journal, The Era, Waterloo Sunday Courier, Nevada State Journal, The Monessen Daily Independent, The Lima News, Dixon Evening Telegraph, The Lethbridge Herald, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, The Portsmouth Herald, The Coshocton Tribune, The Times Recorder, The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Reno Evening Gazette, The Sheboygan Press, Burlington Daily Times-News, The Daily Intelligencer, The Edwardville Intelligencer, Playground Daily News, The News, The Lowell Sun, The Delta Democrat-Times, Kingsport News, The San Antonio Light, Long Beach Independent, Long Beach Independent-Press-Telegram, Humboldt Standard, Raleigh Register, Hobbs News-Sun, Winona Daily News, The Press-Courier, The Evening Standard, Amarillo Globe-Times, The Morning Herald, Oakland Tribune, Oneonta Star, The News Tribune, Pasadena Independent, New Castle News, The Middleboro Daily News | |
| Recommended Books: Comfort and Joi by Joseph Dougherty The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool by Chris Strodder Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood by Tom Lisanti Dreamgirl - The Films of Joi Lansing by Richard Koper Fifties Blondes by Richard Koper Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For by Alexis Hunter When a Girl's Beautiful: The Life and Career of Joi Lansing by Richard Koper | |
| Links: Filmography Brian's Drive-In Theater: Joi Lansing Joi Lansing at Spooky's Nightmare Mansion Joi's Jewels Joi Lansing in "Web of Love" at YouTube Joi Lansing in "The Silencer" at YouTube Joi Lansing in "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else" at YouTube Joi Lansing in "Hillbillies in a Haunted House" at YouTube | |