Joanne Dru

Joanne Dru (born Joan Letitia LaCock; January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film and television actress, known for such films as Red River, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, All the King's Men, and Wagon Master.

Career Born in Logan, West Virginia, Dru moved to New York City in 1940 at the age of eighteen. After finding employment as a model, she was chosen by Al Jolson to appear in the cast of his Broadway show Hold On to Your Hats. When she moved to Hollywood, she found work in the theater. Dru was spotted by a talent scout and made her first film appearance in Abie's Irish Rose (1946). Over the next decade, Dru appeared frequently in films and on television. She was often cast in western films such as Howard Hawks's Red River (1948), and the John Ford productions She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and Wagon Master (1950). Divorced from Haymes in 1949, Dru married Red River and All the King's Men co-star John Ireland less than a month later. The pair divorced in 1957. She had no children from her marriage to Ireland or two subsequent marriages.

She was a staunch Republican, supporting Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election and appeared at a 1968 GOP cocktail party fundraiser for Richard Nixon.

Death Dru died in Los Angeles, California on September 10, 1996, aged 74, from a respiratory ailment that developed from lymphedema, a result of chemotherapy she had received over her lifetime, according to her brother. Her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

Selected filmography

Abie's Irish Rose (1946) – Rosemary Murphy Levy Red River (1948) – Tess Millay She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) – Olivia Dandridge All the King's Men (1949) – Anne Stanton Wagon Master (1950) – Denver 711 Ocean Drive (1950) – Gail Mason Vengeance Valley (1951) – Jen Strobie Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell (1951) – Miss Harriet Tripp Return of the Texan (1952) – Ann Marshall The Pride of St. Louis (1952) – Patricia Nash Dean My Pal Gus (1952) – Lydia Marble Thunder Bay (1953) – Stella Rigaud Hannah Lee (1953) – Hannah Lee (Hallie McLaird) Forbidden (1953) – Christine Lawrence Manard Duffy of San Quentin (1954) – Anne Halsey Southwest Passage (1954) – Lilly Siege at Red River (1954) – Nora Curtis 3 Ring Circus (1954) – Jill Brent Day of Triumph (1954) – Mary Magdalene The Dark Avenger or The Warriors (1955) – Lady Joan Holland Sincerely Yours (1955) – Marion Moore Hell on Frisco Bay (1956) – Marcia Rollins Drango (1957) – Kate Calder The Light in the Forest (1958) – Milly Elder The Wild and the Innocent (1959) – Marcy September Storm (1960) – Anne Traymore Sylvia (1965) – Jane (Bronson) Phillips Super Fuzz (Poliziotto superpiù) (1980) – Rosy Labouche (final film role)

Radio appearances Program Episode Date Notes Stars over Hollywood Pattern in the RugMay 10, 1952 Hollywood Star Playhouse Match Point January 4, 1953