JOAN BANKS

October 30, 1918

Joan Elinor Banks was born in Petersburg, West Virginia. She studied Russian ballet as a girl and her talent earned her a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Art.  She attended Hunter College.

Banks was a regular on the popular 1930s radio series “Gangbusters.” She married fellow “Gangbusters” actor Frank Lovejoy in 1940. 

Banks also spent some time on the tremendously popular radio show “My Friend Irma” featuring Gale Gordon’s real-life mom, Gloria. This is where the first name of Mr. Mooney’s unseen wife Irma comes from on “The Lucy Show.”  

In 1943, she appeared on Broadway in the comedy The Snark Was A Boojum (a titled inspired by Lewis Carroll) alongside her real husband Lovejoy and future TV dad “Dickie” Van Patten. It opened and closed in one weekend. 

Her screen debut came in the film Cry Danger, which was also the debut of “I Love Lucy’s” Hy Averback. It started filming in June 1950 and premiered in February 1951. Before it could open, she made her television debut on October 4, 1950, in the anthology series “Stars Over Hollywood.” 

“I Love Lucy” fans best remember her for her third television project, “Fan Magazine Interview” (ILL S3;E17) in which she played reporter Eleanor Harris assigned to do a story on Ricky Ricardo’s wife aka Lucy Ricardo. 

In addition to writing the story, Harris is also the photographer for the article. Despite Banks’ solid work playing the girl reporter, the episode is most remembered for Lucy’s encounter with Minnie Finch, played by Kathryn Card, who would later play Lucy Ricardo’s mother!  Although Card and Banks have no scenes together, they would both be back at Desilu in May 1956 for an episode of “December Bride” produced by Desi Arnaz. 

Eleanor Harris is the name of a real-life writer who did many articles and features on Lucy and Desi over the years. She published the book The Real Story of Lucille Ball.

In 1955 she was seen on an episode of “Make Room for Danny” (filmed at Desilu) as a real estate agent. The episode also featured George O’Hanlon (the second Charlie Appleby on “I Love Lucy”). This was several years before the “The Danny Thomas Show” moved to CBS and did a cross-over episode with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” 

From 1953 to 1955, Banks played Sylvia Platt on “Private Secretary” starring Ann Sothern. Although not a Desilu production, its lead character Susie MacNamara (Sothern) did a cross-over with the very first “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. At the same time, Desilu produced Sothern’s new show, “The Ann Sothern Show” which also did an “I Love Lucy” crossover. 

Later in her career, Banks appeared as Mrs. Hadley in the television series “National Velvet” (1960-62) and five episodes of “Perry Mason” from 1957 to 1964 as various characters. 

On October 2, 1962, Banks’ husband Frank Lovejoy died of a heart attack. At the time, they were appearing together in a Paramus, New Jersey stage production of Gore Vidal’s play The Best Man (in a role he had done to great acclaim on Broadway), but they had been off the night he was stricken. Lovejoy and Banks had two children together. He was 50 years old.

Her final screen role reunited her with her “I Love Lucy” director William Asher for an October 1967 episode of “Bewitched”.  Banks played wealthy country club member Margaret Baxter and MacDonald Carey played her husband Joe. 

Banks remarried to Allan Raymond Johnson in 1969. 

Banks’ career in radio returned after her work in television subsided, and she appeared in 33 episodes of “CBS Radio Mystery Theater” from 1974 to 1980.

Joan Banks died in 1998 from lung cancer at the age of 79.