Joan Banks

Joan Banks was an American actress, described as a soapbox queen, who worked across radio, film, television, and the stage. Born in Petersburg in 1918, she trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship and also attended Hunter College. Banks began her performing career on radio in 1936, when she appeared with Walter O'Keefe and became the first female stooge for Stoopnagle and Budd. She moved into Hollywood with small roles in Cry Danger (1951) and Washington Story (1952). Through the 1950s and early 1960s she became known as a supporting film actress, with parts in My Pal Gus and Return to Peyton Place (1961). On television, she made five appearances on Perry Mason, four as the murderer, and also appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and National Velvet. Later she performed in 33 episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater from 1974 to 1980.