Beverly Wills was an American television and film actress. Wills was the daughter of comedienne Joan Davis

Joan Davis

Joan Davis was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy, I Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.Born as Madonna Josephine...

.

Career

Wills was born Beverly Josephine Williams in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to actress Joan Davis and actor/writer Si Wills. Wills made her film debut was in George White's Scandals

George White's Scandals

George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modelled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, ...

(1945) when she was 11 years old. Mickey

Mickey (1948 film)

Mickey is a 1948 drama film starring Lois Butler, Bill Goodwin, and Academy Award-winning actress Hattie McDaniel. The film was based on the novel Clementine by Peggy Goodin.-Synopsis:...

(1948) followed three years later. In 1952, at the age of 18, Wills appeared with her mother and Jim Backus

Jim Backus

James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...

 in the TV comedy, I Married Joan

I Married Joan

I Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred veteran vaudeville, film, and radio comedienne Joan Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge, Bradley Stevens .-Synopsis:...

(1952–55). In this, she played the sister to her real-life mother. After the series had its run, Wills appeared in only four more films, the last being Son of Flubber

Son of Flubber

Son of Flubber is the 1963 black-and-white sequel to the Walt Disney children's movie comedy The Absent-Minded Professor , also starring Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky...

(1963) in a small role.

Death

In 1963, Wills died in a house fire with her grandmother and two sons. She was 30 years old. Her mother, Joan, died of a heart attack in 1961.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1938	Anaesthesia	Little girl	Uncredited
1945	George White's Scandals George White's Scandals George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modelled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, ...	Joan as a child
1948	Raw Deal Raw Deal (1948 film) Raw Deal is a 1948 film noir directed by Anthony Mann and shot by cinematographer John Alton.-Plot:Prisoner Joe Sullivan , who has "taken the fall" for an unspecified crime, breaks jail with the help of his girl, Pat...	Girl	Uncredited
1948	Mickey Mickey (1948 film) Mickey is a 1948 drama film starring Lois Butler, Bill Goodwin, and Academy Award-winning actress Hattie McDaniel. The film was based on the novel Clementine by Peggy Goodin.-Synopsis:...	Cathy Williams
1952	Skirts Ahoy!	Boots	Uncredited
1953	Small Town Girl Small Town Girl (1953 film) Small Town Girl is a 1953 musical film directed by László Kardos and starring Jane Powell, Farley Granger, and Ann Miller. Busby Berkeley choreographed several dance numbers. Bobby Van performed the memorable "Street Dance", in which he hopped all around town. The film features song performances...	Deidre
1953	The Life of Riley The Life of Riley The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, is a popular American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a long-run 1950s television series , and a 1958 Dell comic book...	Audrey	Episode: "Riley the Worrier"
1953 to 1954	I Married Joan I Married Joan I Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred veteran vaudeville, film, and radio comedienne Joan Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge, Bradley Stevens .-Synopsis:...	Beverly Grossman	5 episodes
1954	The Student Prince The Student Prince (film) The Student Prince is a 1954 CinemaScope color film musical featuring, as the credits read, "the singing voice of Mario Lanza". Lanza had become embroiled in a bitter dispute with MGM during production and the studio dismissed him. Under the terms of the settlement with Lanza, MGM retained the...	Flirt	Uncredited
1956	The Millionaire	Barbara	Episode: "The Louise Williams Story"
1956	The People's Choice The People's Choice (TV series) The People's Choice is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from 1955 to 1958, primarily sponsored by The Borden Company.It stars Jackie Cooper as Socrates "Sock" Miller, an ex-Marine and New City, California politician with a basset hound named "Cleo", whose thoughts , as she balefully...	Mandy's girlfriend	Episode: "Sock and the Mayor's Election"
1957	Matinee Theater		Episode: "Out of the Frying Pan"
1957	Tales of Wells Fargo Tales of Wells Fargo Tales of Wells Fargo is an American Western television series that ran from March 18, 1957 to June 2, 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season when it expanded to an hour.-Synopsis:...	Sissy Stillwell	Episode: "Man in the Box"
1958	Date with the Angels Date with the Angels Date with the Angels is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from May 10, 1957 to January 29, 1958. The series, which stars Betty White and Bill Williams, began as a late season replacement for The Ray Anthony Show for the same sponsor, Chrysler's Plymouth division...		Episode: "Wheeler at the Cabin"
1958	Buckskin Buckskin (TV series) Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...	Cassie	Episode: "Lament for Durango"
1959	Some Like It Hot Some Like It Hot Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....	Dolores
1961	The Ladies Man The Ladies Man The Ladies Man is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961 by Paramount.-Plot:...	Miss Hypochondriac
1962	The Tall Man The Tall Man (TV series) The Tall Man is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1960 to 1962. The series was produced by Revue Productions.-Synopsis:...		Episode: "The Impatient Brides"
1963	Son of Flubber Son of Flubber Son of Flubber is the 1963 black-and-white sequel to the Walt Disney children's movie comedy The Absent-Minded Professor , also starring Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky...	Mother in commercial
1963	Vacation Playhouse	Clara Boone	Episode: "Hooray for Love"
1963	Petticoat Junction Petticoat Junction Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...	Mrs. Norton	Episode: "Uncle Joe's Replacement"
1964	Mister Ed Mister Ed Originally produced in late 1960, Mister Ed is an American television situation comedy produced by Filmways that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966....	Judy Price	Episode: "Ed the Shish Kebab"

External links