Joan Young

Joan Kathryn Young (July 26, 1937 – May 31, 1985) was an American actress and voice dubber, best known for her featured guest appearances on two TV westerns; first, in "The Murderous Sutton Gang", the much-publicized premiere of the short-lived series, The Rough Riders,

Early life and career Young was born in Oregon on July 26, 1937, née Westin. (The elder, John Ireland, was the child of Westin and her first husband, Harold F. Ireland, since deceased). Her parents divorced shortly after her birth, and, finally, Portland, Oregon, where, in July 1951, The Oregon Daily Journal published a captioned photo depicting the "prize[-winning] acrobatic novelty number" performed by Young at Oaks Amusement Park. Settling in Portland, she attended Couch Grade School and later Jefferson High, She also studied for three years at the local Fred Astaire Dance Studios affiliate, by virtue of a scholarship awarded when she won a talent contest staged by the organization in October 1953. The following summer, Young was one of the seven top finishers in Ted Mack state fair talent contest. she also gave well-received performances in Oumansky Magic Ring Theatre productions of Hamlet—as Ophelia —and Late Love as Janet Colby, one of the play's secondary romantic leads, alongside Oumansky veteran Rod Barrows. (As Oregonian reviewer B.) Mike—aka Francis Seward Murphy —confessed in the next edition of his column "Behind the Mike", it was precisely due to the remarkable authenticity of the recently discovered 17-year-old's portrayal of the 20-year-old Janet Colby that his subsequent review—unreservedly glowing though it was—had regrettably conflated the name of the character played with that of the young Miss Young. Young and her mother moved to Hollywood, leading to uncredited appearances in the dramatic series Big Town, as well as the westerns, Cheyenne, Man Without a Gun, and Bronco, and sitcoms such The Gale Storm Show and Bringing Up Buddy.

In a June 1956 episode of TV Reader's Digest, Young and Chet Marshall portrayed Kitty and Ted Whitman, teenage offspring of a crusading suburbanite—played by series host Gene Raymond—gearing up to "Go Fight City Hall". "The only thing I enjoyed about the film," recalled Young in 1974, "was that I spent two days kissing Kirk Douglas. But they cut that part to death." and where she and he would soon begin work on the film Barabbas, resulting in uncredited appearances by each. Subsequently, each took on one additional Italy-based job—Maslow on The Reluctant Saint, Young on Two Weeks in Another Town—prior to returning to the States. It is not known when exactly this marriage went bad, nor even whether it survived the remainder of their extended but only briefly shared time abroad. Whatever the case, when Young's return was reported by Variety in 1962, no mention was made of marriage, nor Maslow. Likewise, no mention of matrimony, past or present, is to be found in the brief Joan Young refresher course penned by Oregon columnist Arnold Marks in February 1965.

Young died on May 31, 1985, in Los Angeles, aged 47. TV Reader's Digest Season 2 Episode 36 "Go Fight City Hall" (1956) – Kitty Whitman The Gale Storm Show Season 1 Unknown episode (1956) The Rough Riders Season 1 Episode 1 "The Murderous Sutton Gang" (1958) - Jamie Buckley Maverick "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres" (1958) – Susan Granville Bringing Up Buddy Season 1 Episode 6 "Nephew for Sale" (1960) Unknown role Dr. Kildare Season 3 Episode 3 "If You Can't Believe the Truth" (1963) – Lucy Webber Tammy and the Doctor (1963) — Nurse (uncredited) Salvage 1 Season 1 Episode 6 "Golden Orbit: Part 1" (1979) – NASA Technician Season 1 Episode 7 "Golden Orbit: Part 2" (1979) – NASA Technician

In addition to appearances listed above, Young, at dates unknown, appeared uncredited in at least one episode each of Cheyenne (1955–1962), Man Without a Gun (1957–1959), and Bronco (1958–1962).