“On the Loose” and “Edge of Doom” actress Joan Evans has died at the age of 89.
Evans’ son, John Weatherly, confirmed to Fox News Digital that his mother died at her home in Henderson, Nevada, on Oct. 21.
Evans, who was Joan Crawford’s goddaughter, rose to fame with her movie roles in the ‘50s. Evans’ parents – Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert – were both screenwriters and penned the 1951 film “On the Loose.”
“On the Loose” actress Joan Evans has died at 89. (Getty Images)
In 1952, Evans starred alongside Esther Williams in the musical “Skirts Ahoy!”
Evans continued to star in films for the next decade, appearing in “Edge of Doom,” “Our Very Own,” “Column South” and “No Name on the Bullet.”
Evans – who was named after Crawford – was a New York native born in 1934. Evans’ mother was a Hollywood reporter for Photoplay magazine, where she often covered Crawford as she rose to fame.
Joan Evans was named after the legendary Joan Crawford. (Bert Six/John Kobal Foundation/Bettman/Getty Images)
“They were best friends,” Evans told Foster Hirsch in an interview in 2013.
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During the interview, Evans recounted a scary moment she had on a film set when she was 14 years old.
She was cast in “Roseanna McCoy,” which was produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by Nicholas Ray in 1948. While on the set, Ray was filming reshoots when Evans was “accidentally shot very, very seriously” in her arm.
Joan Evans was accidently shot on the set of the film “Roseanna McCoy” in which she starred alongside Farley Granger. (Hulton Archive)
Evans told Hirsch that the gun misfired. She required emergency surgery and was hospitalized.
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Evans also shared how she and husband Kirby Weatherly tied the knot. She was invited to a dinner party at Crawford’s home when the legendary actress insisted the couple tie the knot that night.
Evans had recently celebrated her 18th birthday and Weatherly was 26 at the time when Crawford called a judge over to her home. Evans and Weatherly said “I do” just after midnight on July 24, 1952.
Esther Williams, Vivian Blaine and Joan Evans starred in the 1952 film “Skirts Ahoy!” (John Springer Collection/CORBIS)
“The head of publicity at Goldwyn had said to me, ‘Joan, I don’t care what you do, just don’t call me in the middle of the night and tell me you’re married,’” Evans recounted in the interview. “So, I called him in the middle of the night and told him I was married.”
According to the star, her parents were very unhappy with Crawford and did not speak to her again. However, Evans remained close to Crawford up until her death in 1977.
“I saw a wonderful, darling friend who was generous to the max to everyone, certainly to me,” Evans said. “When I was a little girl, I traveled on the train from New York to California with Joan; now that would bring out the worst in any great actress, [and it didn’t].”
Joan Evans and husband Kirby Weatherly tied the knot in 1952 and remained married until his death on Jan. 1. (Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives)
Evans and Weatherly were married until his death on Jan. 1, 2023. At the time of the interview, Evans said their marriage “wasn’t the mistake that my parents foretold.”
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The couple share a son, John, and a daughter, Dale. Evans is also survived by her grandson, Chris.
