Joan Blackman, 1938 – 2026

Actress Joan Blackman, 87, died on March 16, it was just announced. Blackman costarred with Elvis Presley (Blue Hawaii, Kid Galahad), Dean Martin (Career), Jerry Lewis (Visit to a Small Planet), Tony Curtis (The Imposter), and Fred MacMurray (Good Day for a Hanging), and appeared on TV in Perry Mason, Bonanza, I Spy, Gunsmoke, Peyton Place, and Run for Your Life. She pretty much retired from acting after filming Macon County Line and Moonrunners in the 1970s. Blackman was an Elvis Girl offscreen as well, enjoying a two-year romance with him before his marriage to Priscilla. She went on to (briefly) marry actor Joby Baker and Rockne Tarkington. “Elvis and I had so much fun and had a sort of 'on again off again' relationship,” Blackman said. “I stayed in touch with Elvis for years. I had dinner with him, his wife, and some friends of his and out of nowhere he starts singing ‘Blue Hawaii’ to me. You could see his wife wasn't happy about it.”