Joyce Coad

Joyce Coad (April 14, 1917 – May 3, 1987) was a child actress in motion pictures.

Joyce Coad
Born(1917-04-14)April 14, 1917
Laramie, Wyoming, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 1987(1987-05-03) (aged 70)
March Air Force Base, Riverside County, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1926–1933

Child prodigy

Coad was the survivor of triplets whose parents died shortly after she was born. She was adopted by a childless couple and taken to Los Angeles, California. Her foster father was Raymond E. Coad.[1] By the age of five she became a reader of children's stories on radio station KHJ in Los Angeles[2] with the Beacon Light Company. It was commented that Coad's genius was first observed when she began to commit to memory songs, speeches, and music she heard over the radio.

Film actress

Coad moved to Los Angeles at the same time in 1926 that Metro Goldwyn Mayer was searching for a "million dollar baby". She won the contest conducted by the Los Angeles Evening Express[3] and was brought to Hollywood to play the leading role in Hearts In Dixie. She was selected from among one thousand youngsters to play a part in The Devil's Circus (1926) directed by Benjamin Christensen. Coad played the role of Little Anita. She also received a contract to perform on radio station KNX in Hollywood. Her programs included recitations, songs, and stories.[4]

She performed the role of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter (1926), a film which featured Lillian Gish. Louis B. Mayer chose Victor Seastrom to direct the movie. He proved a fine choice because of his attentiveness to characterization. Drums of Love (1928), directed by D.W. Griffith, is set in the middle of the nineteenth century in South America. Coad appeared in the role of the little sister in a screen production which starred Lionel Barrymore, Don Alvarado, and Tully Marshall.[5]

The number of her film appearances declined after 1931. She played the role of Elsa The German Milkmaid in Captured! (1933). In June 1937 Coad was cast in The Deerslayer, which was being filmed by Standard Pictures. She was twenty years old.[5]

Death

Joyce Coad died at March Air Force Base, Riverside County, California in 1987, aged 70, from undisclosed causes.[5]

Select filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1926 The Devil's Circus Little Anita
The Scarlet Letter Pearl
1927 Children of Divorce Little Kitty
Mother Betty Ellis
The Magic Garden Amaryllis Minton, as a child
One Woman to Another The Niece
1928 Drums of Love The Little Sister
1931 Blood and Thunder (uncredited)
Devotion Elsie (uncredited)
X Marks the Spot Gloria
1933 Captured! Elsa the German Milkmaid
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References
  1. "Riches sought for Joyce Coad". Los Angeles Evening Express. California, Los Angeles. April 22, 1931. p. 17. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Tune In On These Tonight". The Pomona Progress Bulletin. California, Pomona. October 1, 1924. p. 9. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Winners in Evening Express Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Baby Contest". Los Angeles Evening Express. California, Los Angeles. March 8, 1926. p. 11. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Joyce Coad retains her love for broadcasting on radio". Los Angeles Evening Express. California, Los Angeles. August 1, 1929. p. 8. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Joyce Coad on IMDb
  • "New Voices On Air". Los Angeles Times. October 19, 1924. p. B8.
  • "Child Prodigy Given Place in Picture Cast". Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1925. p. C29.
  • "Film to Start". Los Angeles Times. June 7, 1937. p. A16.
  • "Orphan Adopted in Wyoming Turns Out To Be Screens' Million Dollar Child". Middletown Daily Times-Press. May 8, 1926. p. 10.
  • "A Nathaniel Hawthorne Classic". New York Times. August 10, 1926. p. 19.
  • "Screen Notes". New York Times. November 21, 1926. p. X5.
  • "Paolo and Francesca". New York Times. January 25, 1928. p. 20.
  • "At Syracuse Theaters". Syracuse Herald. January 20, 1932. p. 10.


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