Joyce Taylor obit

RIP Joyce Taylor

 

She was not on the list.

Joyce Taylor Hinnant, 1937–2024 

Fort Collins, Colorado

 Described as a petite, blue eyed brunette, Joyce Taylor was born as Joyce Crowder in Taylorville, Illinois. Her father was a vocalist with his own radio show in St. Louis and music was strong in the family. Joyce loved to sing and play the piano from an early age. At 15, she performed her own composition, 'You've Got Something', at a school talent contest. Spotted there by an agent for Mercury Records, she was promptly signed to a three-year contract (under the name Joyce Bradley), her song subsequently released as her debut commercial single. Joyce relocated to Chicago where she sang at the famous Chez Paree nightclub and at other venues, performing numbers like 'St. Louis Blues'. Her next stop was Billy Gray's Band Box comedy club in Los Angeles. In 1954, now aged 17, she sang on Walter Winchell's weekly television show on ABC. Around this time, she again changed her stage moniker, this time from Bradley to Taylor, a decision said to have been spearheaded by the residents of her home town.

Somehow, Joyce caught the ever-roving eye of Howard Hughes, who offered her a seven-year contract with RKO. She likely rebuffed the billionaire, since her only motion picture appearance during this tenure was a small part in the murder mystery Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956). In 1957, her contract was dropped prematurely and Joyce resumed work as a free-lancer in television, making appearances in classic shows like 77 Sunset Strip (1958), Sea Hunt (1958), The Untouchables (1959) and Tales of Wells Fargo (1957). She also featured as the wife of the main lead (William Lundigan) in several episodes of the sci-fi adventure series Men Into Space (1959). In 1959, Joyce married Beverly Hills stockbroker Edward S. Bellinson. This union produced a son several years later but ended in divorce.

Joyce made a return to motion pictures when George Pal was scouting for a brunette to play the part of Princess Antillia in his production Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961) (based on the play Atlanta by Gerald Hargreaves). The film was set in the days of the Roman Empire, allowing Pal to use footage from MGM's epic Quo Vadis (1951). The storyline called for the hero (Sal Ponti, as 'Anthony Hall') to protect the princess from death rays, mad scientists and the inevitable volcanic eruption at the climax.

In September 1960, Joyce won over fourteen other aspirants auditioning for the lead in writer-director Andrew L. Stone's crime drama Ring of Fire (1961). In this, she played a tough-talking juvenile delinquent in league with two hardened felons (Frank Gorshin and James Burr Johnson) who is ultimately reformed and joins the white hats out of love for the local deputy sheriff (David Janssen).

Joyce's last film role of note was in 'Rappaccini's Daughter', a segment of the anthology drama Twice-Told Tales (1963), based on a Gothic horror story by Nathaniel Hawthorne and set in 16th century Padua. On this occasion she portrayed Beatrice, the ill-fated daughter of a mad botanist (Vincent Price), who imprisons her in a garden filled with poisonous plants to keep out unwanted suitors. This works a treat, as Beatrice is also treated with a toxic plant extract which makes her touch lethal to others. Needless to say, the story doesn't end well.

Joyce did a few more TV guest spots before her retirement from acting in 1971. The following year, she got married a second time to one Richard Perry Hinnant. She continued to write music for other artists, having also set up her own publishing company, Joyce Taylor Music. She died as Joyce Taylor Hinnant in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2024.

Born Joyce Crowder, actress in the Golden Age of Hollywood as Joyce Taylor, and singer as Joyce Bradley. Taylor sang in amateur shows at age 10 and turned professional at age 15, signing with Mercury Records (billed as Joyce Bradley). When she was 16, she was singing at Chez Paree nightclub in Chicago and other similar venues.

She was under contract to Howard Hughes-owned RKO Pictures in the 1950s, but he only allowed her to act in one movie (a small part in Beyond a Reasonable Doubt in 1956). When her seven-year contract ended, she became a regular on the science-fiction adventure TV series Men into Space (1959–1960) as well as acted in many other TV shows and several feature films

The records show she remarried, in 1972, to Richard Perry Hinnant (b. 1943). Her first marriage certificate indicates she was born in 1937, not 1932 as stated on IMDb. Both of them show up as living in Fort Collins, Colorado as of 2021. She goes by the name of Joyce Taylor Hinnant

TAYLOR, Joyce (Joyce Bernice Crowder)

 

Born: 9/14/1937, Taylorville, Illinois, U.S.A.

 

Died: 1/?/2024, Ft. Collins, Colorado, U.S.A.

 

Actress

Jim McMullan in The Windsplitter (1971)

The Windsplitter

5.5

Jenny

1971

 

Santa and the Three Bears (1970)

Santa and the Three Bears

6.6

(voice, uncredited)

1970

 

Carl Betz and Stephen Young in Judd for the Defense (1967)

Judd for the Defense

7.7

TV Series

Amy Carroll

1967

1 episode

 

Jerry Van Dyke in My Mother the Car (1965)

My Mother the Car

4.7

TV Series

Marsha

1965

1 episode

 

The Littlest Hobo (1963)

The Littlest Hobo

7.6

TV Series

Helen

Felicia

1964–1965

2 episodes

 

Robert Vaughn, Pat Crowley, and Luciana Paluzzi in To Trap a Spy (1964)

To Trap a Spy

6.0

Margaret Oberon (uncredited)

1964

 

Robert Vaughn, Leo G. Carroll, and David McCallum in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.7

TV Series

Margaret Oberon (uncredited)

1964

1 episode

 

Twice-Told Tales (1963)

Twice-Told Tales

6.6

Beatrice Rappaccini

1963

 

Joyce Taylor in 13 Frightened Girls (1963)

13 Frightened Girls

5.3

Soldier

1963

 

Bonanza (1959)

Bonanza

7.3

TV Series

Morvath Terry

1962

1 episode

 

Mark Damon and Joyce Taylor in Beauty and the Beast (1962)

Beauty and the Beast

4.7

Althea

1962

 

Dale Robertson in Tales of Wells Fargo (1957)

Tales of Wells Fargo

7.9

TV Series

Rachel Whitman

Ann King

1960–1962

2 episodes

 

John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957)

Wagon Train

7.5

TV Series

Ruth Creech

1962

1 episode

 

Audie Murphy in Whispering Smith (1961)

Whispering Smith

7.4

TV Series

Edie Romack

1961

1 episode

 

David Janssen and Joyce Taylor in Ring of Fire (1961)

Ring of Fire

6.2

Bobbie 'Skidoo' Adams

1961

 

Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961)

Atlantis: The Lost Continent

5.5

Antillia

1961

 

Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, and Robert Stack in The Untouchables (1959)

The Untouchables

8.0

TV Series

Singer

1960

1 episode

 

Ray Milland in Markham (1959)

Markham

8.2

TV Series

Sandy Boon

1960

1 episode

 

Men Into Space (1959)

Men Into Space

7.7

TV Series

Mary McCauley

1959–1960

8 episodes

 

Bat Masterson (1958)

Bat Masterson

7.3

TV Series

Jane Taylor

1960

1 episode

 

Shotgun Slade (1959)

Shotgun Slade

6.8

TV Series

Val Preston

1959

1 episode

 

Harriet Nelson, David Nelson, Ozzie Nelson, and Ricky Nelson in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952)

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

7.4

TV Series

Dorothy

Norma

Maria ...

1958–1959

6 episodes

 

The Man and the Challenge (1959)

The Man and the Challenge

8.5

TV Series

Dorrie Conway

1959

1 episode

 

Not for Hire (1959)

Not for Hire

8.1

TV Series

Cricket Kelly

1959

1 episode

 

This Man Dawson (1959)

This Man Dawson

8.0

TV Series

1959

1 episode

 

Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)

General Electric Theater

6.8

TV Series

Bride's Friend

1959

1 episode

 

Lock Up (1959)

Lock Up

7.7

TV Series

Elaine Connors

1959

1 episode

 

James Stewart and Vera Miles in The FBI Story (1959)

The FBI Story

6.5

Anne Hardesty

1959

 

Lloyd Bridges in Sea Hunt (1958)

Sea Hunt

7.7

TV Series

Alma Carroll

Mrs. Susie Bryan

Mrs. Dinah Garrick

1959

3 episodes

 

The Rough Riders (1958)

The Rough Riders

8.0

TV Series

Jenny Kirby

1959

1 episode

 

John R. Ellis, Dean Fredericks, and Johann Mitchell in Steve Canyon (1958)

Steve Canyon

7.1

TV Series

Betty Berger

1959

1 episode

 

Lawman (1958)

Lawman

8.1

TV Series

Dora Mahan Steed

1959

1 episode

 

Edd Byrnes, Roger Smith, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 77 Sunset Strip (1958)

77 Sunset Strip

7.7

TV Series

Doll

Nancy

1958

2 episodes

 

Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan in The Real McCoys (1957)

The Real McCoys

7.6

TV Series

Joy Reynolds

1958

1 episode

 

Suspicion (1957)

Suspicion

8.1

TV Series

1958

1 episode

 

The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna (1956)

The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna

7.8

TV Series

Lizabeth

1957

1 episode

 

Joan Fontaine and Dana Andrews in Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

6.9

Joan Williams

1956

 

Soundtrack

Jim McMullan in The Windsplitter (1971)

The Windsplitter

5.5

lyrics: "The Road Home"

music: "The Road Home"

1971

 

Santa and the Three Bears (1970)

Santa and the Three Bears

6.6

writer: "The Wonder of Christmas Time", "Wintertime", "Sleepytime Song", "The World of Toy People" (uncredited)

1970

 

Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, and Robert Stack in The Untouchables (1959)

The Untouchables

8.0

TV Series

performer: "All of Me" (uncredited)

1960

1 episode