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Joyce Howard

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Joyce Howard
Born(1922-02-28)28 February 1922
London, England
Died23 November 2010(2010-11-23) (aged 88)
Occupation(s)Actress, writer, story analyst
Spouse(s)Basil Sydney
(m. 1946; div. 1958)
Joel Shor
(m. 1961; div. 19??)
Children3; Rowena and two others from her first marriage

Joyce Howard (28 February 1922 – 23 November 2010) was an English actress, writer, and film executive.[1][2]

Acting career

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After studying at RADA, she was spotted by film director Anthony Asquith in a play at London's Embassy Theatre. He cast the 19-year-old in Freedom Radio (1941), and starring roles in films followed, including opposite James Mason in The Night Has Eyes and They Met in the Dark, the former winning her rave reviews.

She was also active in theatre, including Romeo and Juliet at the Old Vic and in A Streetcar Named Desire. She performed in London throughout World War II, even as Nazis were bombing the city.

Writing career and personal life

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In 1950, after 13 films, she more or less retired from acting to raise her three children by actor Basil Sydney. Howard also began a second career as a writer. She wrote three well-received novels, Two Persons Singular (1960), A Private View (1961) and Going On (2000). She also wrote plays, including Broken Silence, which was produced by the BBC. After her divorce from Sydney, Howard married American psychoanalyst Joel Shor, and moved to California in 1964.

Although the couple eventually separated, Howard remained in California. To support her family as a single mother, she embarked on a third career as a story analyst for network television. She was promoted to executive and story editor at Paramount Pictures and Paramount TV, eventually becoming responsible for property acquisition and development.

She also continued to write for television and wrote original treatments for the miniseries The Whiteoaks and Picasso's Painted Ladies. At the request of Henry Miller's widow, Howard collated, edited and wrote the introduction to Letters by Henry Miller to Hoki Tokuda Miller (1986).[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1941 Freedom Radio Elly
1941 Love on the Dole Helen Hawkins
1941 The Common Touch Mary
1942 Back-Room Boy Betty
1942 The Night Has Eyes Marian Ives
1942 Talk About Jacqueline June Marlow
1943 The Gentle Sex Anne Lawrence
1943 They Met in the Dark Laura Verity
1946 They Knew Mr. Knight Freda Blake
1946 Appointment with Crime Carol Dane
1947 Woman to Woman Nicolette Bonnet
1947 Mrs. Fitzherbert Maria Fitzherbert
1950 Shadow of the Past Lady in Black

References

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  1. ^ "Joyce Howard". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Advertisement". Variety. 2 December 2010.
  3. ^ Bergan, Ronald (29 December 2010). "Joyce Howard obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  4. ^ Staff writers (12 December 2010). "Film Obituaries: Joyce Howard". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  5. ^ "PASSINGS: Sebastian Adler, Joyce Howard, Stephen J. Solarz, Peter Hofmann, Jean Cione". Los Angeles Times. 3 December 2010.
  6. ^ Staff writers (4 December 2010). "Joyce Howard". The Times.
  7. ^ Jong, Erica (1994). The Devil at Large. ISBN 9780802133915.
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