Joi Lansing

Buxom, peroxide-blonded Joi Lansing began her screen career as a bit actress in 1948; among the many films graced by her fleeting presence was 1952's Singin' in the Rain. She gained prominence on TV in the 1950s as Shirley Swanson, one of the many models squired by Robert Cummings in Love That Bob, and in guest-star appearances on dozens of other programs (in a 1957 Superman episode, she played the new bride of the Man of Steel). In films, Lansing was invariably cast as an "arm ornament" or good-time girl, exhibiting a sharp sense of comic timing in such films as A Hole in the Head (1959) and Who Was That Lady (1960). During the 1960s, Lansing was co-starred on the TV adventure series Klondike, and played the recurring role of showbiz aspirant Mrs. Flatt (!) on The Beverly Hillbillies. Joi Lansing died of cancer at the age of 44, not long after appearing in yet another of the schlocky horror films that had become her lot in her last decade. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide