Beverly Wills

Beverly Wills (June 7, 1933 – October 24, 1963) was an American television and film actress.

Beverly Wills
Wills and Tom Peters on the set of I Married Joan, 1954.
Born
Beverly Josephine Williams

(1933-06-07)June 7, 1933
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 24, 1963(1963-10-24) (aged 30)
Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Cause of deathHouse fire
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)
Lee Bamber
(m. 1952; div. 1953)

Alan Grossman
(m. 1954; div. 1958)

Martin Colbert
(m. 1960)
Children2

Biography

She was born in 1933 as Beverly Josephine Williams in Los Angeles to actress and comedian Joan Davis and actor and writer Si Wills. Wills made her film debut in George White's Scandals (1945) when she was 11 years old.[1] Mickey (1948) followed three years later.

In 1952, at the age of 18, Wills appeared with her mother and Jim Backus in the TV comedy, I Married Joan (1952–55). She played the younger sister of her real-life mother.[2] After the series ended its run, Wills appeared in only four more films including Some Like It Hot (1959) and Son of Flubber (1963).

Wills married three times before the age of 30. Her first marriage was to Lee Bamber, a Pasadena fireman, in 1952. Bamber and Wills eloped to Carson City, Nevada. The couple divorced in 1953. She was later married to Alan Grossman on July 12, 1954; the couple had two sons. Wills and Grossman divorced and she was remarried to Martin Colbert.[3][4][5]

On October 24, 1963, Wills died in a house fire with her grandmother, Nina Davis, and both children from her second marriage, sons Guy (age 7) and Larry (age 4) Grossman. The fire started due to the 30-year-old Wills smoking in bed.[3][6][7] Her mother, Joan, had previously died from a heart attack, at age 53, in 1961.[8]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1938 Anaesthesia Little girl Short, Uncredited
1945 George White's Scandals Joan as a child
1948 Raw Deal Girl Uncredited
Mickey Cathy Williams
1952 Skirts Ahoy! Boots Uncredited
1953 Small Town Girl Deidre
The Life of Riley Audrey 1 episode
1953-1955 I Married Joan Beverly Grossman 5 episodes
1954 The Student Prince Flirt Uncredited
1956 The Millionaire Barbara Episode: "The Louise Williams Story"
The People's Choice Mandy's girlfriend Episode: "Sock and the Mayor's Election"
1957 Matinee Theater Episode: "Out of the Frying Pan"
Tales of Wells Fargo Sissy Stillwell Episode: "Man in the Box"
1958 Date with the Angels Episode: "Wheeler at the Cabin"
Buckskin Cassie Episode: "Lament for Durango"
1959 Some Like It Hot Dolores
1961 The Ladies Man Miss Hypochondriac
1962 The Tall Man Episode: "The Impatient Brides"
1963 Son of Flubber Mother in commercial
Vacation Playhouse Clara Boone Episode: "Hooray for Love"
Petticoat Junction Mrs. Norton Episode: "Uncle Joe's Replacement"
1964 Mister Ed Judy Price Episode: "Ed the Shish Kebab", (final appearance)

References
  1. "Beverly Wills' Stage Goal: Be Herself". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 4 July 1948. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. Bloom, Ken; Vlastnik, Frank; Lithgow, John (2007). Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time. Black Dog Publishing. p. 177. ISBN 1-57912-752-5.
  3. "Fire Kills Joan Davis' Relatives". The Evening Independent. 24 October 1963. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  4. "Joan Davis' Daughter Elopes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 27 June 1952. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  5. "Beverly Wills, Actress, Weds". Herald-Journal. 12 July 1954. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  6. "Fire Kills 4 Members Of Joan Davis Family". St Petersburg Times. 25 October 1963. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  7. "Fire Kills Joan Davis' Kin". The Milwaukee Journal. 24 October 1963. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  8. Tucker, David C. (2007). The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. McFarland. p. 91. ISBN 0-7864-2900-3.



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