Joan Blackman, the actress who starred alongside Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii and Kid Galahad, has died aged 87. Her son, Ngai Tarkington, confirmed her death on August 6 to The Hollywood Reporter.
Career and early life
Joan died on March 16 at a hospital in Santa Rosa, California. Born in San Francisco on May 17, 1938, her father Frank was a musician and her mother Ivy a homemaker. She took singing and dance lessons as a youngster and performed on television, at military camps and hospitals.
Her big screen debut came in Good Day for a Hanging (1959), starring Fred MacMurray. Other film credits include The Great Impostor (1961), Twilight of Honor (1963), Intimacy (1966), Daring Game (1968), Pets (1974), Macon County Line (1974) and Moonrunners (1975). On television, she appeared in Perry Mason, Bonanza, I Spy, Gunsmoke and Run for Your Life.
Affair with Elvis
In 1960, Joan starred opposite Tony Curtis in the military drama The Big Imposter. She was then cast as local island girl Maile Duval in Blue Hawaii alongside Elvis. The pair had a brief romantic affair.
In a 1977 interview, Joan described how the attraction ignited on set: "We had rooms next to each other in the hotel, and for weeks we just lived together. He really wanted me as his wife."
Personal life and later years
Joan was married to actor Joby Baker from 1959 until 1961, then to Rockne Tarkington from 1968 until their divorce two years later. In her later years, she spent time gardening and singing in local spots around town, her son told the publication.
