Joan Marshall Profile

Joan Marshall

6 June 31	is born in Evanston / Chicago, Illinois
?	is raised on Chicago's North Side
?	attends St. Clement's School
c. 48	bulbar polio paralyzes her vocal cords, spine, neck, and face when she's 15 years old. She's hospitalized for seven weeks.
c. 51	auditions for the job of a showgirl at Chicago's Chez Paree nightclub
?	appears in Las Vegas productions. There she meets her first husband.
?	while in Las Vegas, she is offered a job on Red Skelton's TV show
c. 54	her son, Steven, is born
c. 57	her daughter, Shari, is born
May 58	is on hand with actor Hugh O'Brian at Phil Ahn's Moongate Restaurant in Panorama City
c. 59	moves to Beverly Hills
July 59	switches her affections from Frank Torre, Milwaukee Braves' first baseman, to comic Marty Allen
June 60	her 3-year-old daughter faces her third operation in a year
61	her agent Jerry Lauren sends her to producer-director William Castle, who casts her for Homicidal and has her blonde hair shorn and dyed black. To keep the audience unsure about her sex, she's billed as Jean Arless.
September 62	is on stage in Hollywood in A Cold Wind in August
February 64	is considered for the female part in CBS-TV's upcoming situation comedy with weird Charles Addams-type characters. A pilot has been filmed already.
	is Phoebe Munster in the pilot for the up-coming TV series "The Munsters," but is replaced for the show by Yvonne De Carlo
December 65	her dates with actor Richard Chamberlain have become a habit
April 66	is with Chamberlain on the Palm Beach stage in The Philadelphia Story
August 66	she and Chamberlain decide to be good friends instead of going to the altar
October 66	there was some talk of marriage to Chamberlain, but that romance seems over
70s	co-scripts TV sitcoms with her best friend from grammar school days, Dirk Wayne Summers
c. 70	marries director Hal Ashby
74	her life becomes the inspiration for the film Shampoo, directed by her husband, Hal Ashby. For a year or so, late at night, Hal questions her about her life before they were married. She recounts her life and times in Beverly Hills to Hal, who then co-writes the screenplay with Robert Towne. As a result, all of the film's characters are based on real people. The documentary filmmaker character in Shampoo, portrayed by actor Tony Bill, is based on Joan's brother.
88	becomes the widow of Ashby
89	marries business executive Mel Bartfield
?	falls in love with and settles in Jamaica
28 June 92	dies at age 61 in Jamaica. Her ashes are spread under her favorite tree on her property.

Sources: The Zanesville Signal, The Vidette Messenger, Van Nuys News, The Sheboygan Press, Nevada State Journal, The Gettysburg Times, Syracuse Herald-Journal, www.IMDb.com, Step Right Up! by William Castle, Movie Life, Ecodoc
Recommended Books:
Links: Filmography The Munsters' Land of Fun Joan Marshall at Spooky's Nightmare Mansion