Joan Weldon

Joan Weldon was an American actress and singer who started out in opera before moving into film, television and theater. Born in San Francisco in 1930, she began her career in the chorus of the San Francisco Grand Opera Company and also sang with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, later appearing on Broadway in Kean and singing at Lincoln Center when the New York State Theater opened in 1964. Her film debut came in The System (1953), and she went on to a contract with Warner Bros. that lasted until 1954. Her best known screen role was in the cult thriller Them! (1954), and she also took non-singing parts in The Command (1954) and So This Is Love. In the 1950s she worked in television, with roles on Lux Video Theater, Perry Mason and Maverick. She returned to singing in road companies of The Music Man and Oklahoma! and retired in 1980.