Movie and Broadway actress and former fashion model, Joan Caulfield was discovered by Broadway producers, which helped her successful career on stage. This then led to movies at Paramont Pictures. One of her most memorable roles was in The Unsuspected (1947), opposite Claude Rains and Audrey Totter, during her time at the Warner Brothers Studio. ...
June 1, 1922, West Orange, New Jersey, United States
Died
June 18, 1991, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of Birth
West Orange, New Jersey, USA
Height
5' 4½" (1.64 m)
Profession
Actress, Soundtrack
Education
Columbia University
Nationality
American
Spouse
Dr. Robert Peterson (m. 1960–1966), Frank Ross (m. 1950–1960)
Children
Caulfield Kevin Ross, John Caulfield Peterson
Parents
Henry R. Caulfield
Siblings
Betty Caulfield
Movies
Blue Skies, The Unsuspected, Dear Ruth, The Rains of Ranchipur, The Lady Says No, The Petty Girl, Dear Wife, Monsieur Beaucaire, Miss Susie Slagle's, The Sainted Sisters, The Daring Dobermans, Cattle King, Pony Express Rider, Red Tomahawk, Buckskin, Larceny, Variety Girl, Welcome Stranger, The Hatfi...
TV Shows
My Favorite Husband, Sally
Star Sign
Gemini
#
Quote
1
I believe I'm geared to television. It moves fast, and that's what I like. There is no bickering and fighting and, most of all, no temperament. There just isn't time to put up with temperamental people in television. So it is pleasant work, although often pretty hectic.
2
Few people realize what a handicap it is to be what people call a beautiful woman. I'm glad of course that I don't look like an unmade bed, but too often I'm just taken at face value. And there aren't many men who believe a beautiful woman can have any brains.
3
I guess I'm just not the film femme fatale type. I giggle too much. I have freckles and a turned-up nose and I walk like an athlete. As George Abbott once said, I look better on a tennis court than in a bedroom. Of course, I can raise a shoulder and wet my lower lip, but when I do I look like I'm imitating someone.
4
[on her wholesome image] I've had that label for years and I'm thoroughly sick of it. I'm not wholesome at all. I detest homey things like cooking and bedmaking and Peter Pan collars. I like to wear slacks and play golf.
5
I didn't go Hollywood on the outside with flashy cars, upstairs maids and mink covered bathroom fixtures. I went Hollywood on the inside and that's worst of all. I tried to avoid being natural. I lowered my voice. I copied the mannerisms of other stars. I struck poses. I received bad advice - from dramatic coaches, from agents, and from studio executives. I stopped being a human being. I blame myself and I blame Hollywood's star system
She has two children. Her first child with Frank Ross was born 7 November 1959; and her son, John, with Dr. Robert Peterson was born 22 March 1962.
3
Was a staunch conservative Republican.
4
She is featured as a character in the mystery novel, "Dead in Their Sights" by John Dandola, which explores her West Orange, New Jersey, roots.
5
Is the favorite actress of writer/director Joss Whedon. Joss frequently wears a T-shirt with her picture on it and tests people by asking them if they can correctly identify her.
6
Caulfield was represented by the John Robert Powers agency, as a fashion model in the early 1940s.
7
Hailed in her time as one of the screen's great beauties, many of her cameramen said she was one of the few women in Hollywood whom it was virtually impossible to photograph badly.
8
Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
9
Department of Strange Coincidences: Caulfield's former spouse, Frank Ross, had earlier been married to Jean Arthur. On the very day after Caulfield's death, Arthur herself died.
10
Died two weeks after cancer surgery in Los Angeles.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Murder, She Wrote
1987
TV Series
Mary Rose Welch
Baretta
1977
TV Series
Pony Express Rider
1976
Charlotte
The Space-Watch Murders
1975
TV Movie
The Hatfields and the McCoys
1975
TV Movie
Sarah McCoy
The Daring Dobermans
1973
Claudia (as Miss Joan Caulfield)
The Magician
1973
TV Series
Lulu
Buckskin
1968
Nora Johnson
The High Chaparral
1967
TV Series
Annalee Cannon
Red Tomahawk
1967
Dakota Lil McCoy
My Three Sons
1966
TV Series
Florence Glendenny
Burke's Law
1963-1965
TV Series
Alexis Raff / Psyche Jones / Betty Techman
Cattle King
1963
Sharleen Travers
Cheyenne
1962
TV Series
Darcy Clay
Hong Kong
1961
TV Series
Laura Johnson
General Electric Theater
1959
TV Series
Elizabeth
Pursuit
1958
TV Series
Sally
1957-1958
TV Series
Sally Truesdale
The Ford Television Theatre
1952-1957
TV Series
Louise
Lux Video Theatre
1950-1956
TV Series
Mary Lane / Bobby
Screen Directors Playhouse
1956
TV Series
Maggie Tyler
Schlitz Playhouse
1951-1956
TV Series
Governess
Celebrity Playhouse
1956
TV Series
The Rains of Ranchipur
1955
Fern Simon
My Favorite Husband
1953-1954
TV Series
Liz Cooper
Hollywood Opening Night
1952
TV Series
Robert Montgomery Presents
1952
TV Series
Kaye Burns
The Lady Says No
1951
Dorinda Hatch
The Petty Girl
1950
Prof. Victoria Braymore
Dear Wife
1949
Ruth Seacroft
Larceny
1948
Deborah Owens Clark
The Sainted Sisters
1948
Jane Stanton
The Unsuspected
1947
Matilda Frazier
Variety Girl
1947
Joan Caufield
Welcome Stranger
1947
Trudy Mason
Dear Ruth
1947
Ruth Wilkins
Blue Skies
1946
Mary O'Hara
Monsieur Beaucaire
1946
Mimi
Miss Susie Slagle's
1946
Margaretta Howe
Duffy's Tavern
1945
Joan Caufield
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Petty Girl
1950
performer: "Fancy Free", "Calypso Song", "I Loves Ya", "The Petty Girl" - uncredited
Variety Girl
1947
"HARMONY"
Blue Skies
1946
performer: "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", "All by Myself", "Serenade for an Old-Fashioned Girl"
$17 Million
