{{Short description|American actress and baker (1938–2026)}} {{Infobox person | name = Joy Harmon | image = Joy Harmon Roger Smith Mister Roberts 1965.JPG | image_size = 220px | caption = Harmon with [[Roger Smith (actor)|Roger Smith]] in an episode of ''[[Mister Roberts (TV series)|Mister Roberts]]'', 1965 | birth_name = Patricia Joy Harmon | birth_date = {{Birth date|1938|05|01}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2026|04|14|1938|05|01}} | death_place = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S. | years_active = 1956–1973 | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|baker}} | awards = | known_for = Lucille in ''[[Cool Hand Luke]]'' | spouse = {{marriage|[[Jeff Gourson]]|1968|2001|end=divorced}} | children = 3 | website = {{URL|http://www.auntjoyscakes.com}} }}
'''Patricia Joy Harmon''' (May 1, 1938 – April 14, 2026) was an American actress and baker.
==Early years== Patricia Joy Harmon was born in [[Flushing, Queens]], New York City, on May 1, 1938,{{efn|name=birthdate|Harmon's year of birth is often erroneously given as 1940, as she claimed to be two years younger than her real age during her career.<ref name="NYT">{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Alex |title=Joy Harmon, Car-Washing Temptress in 'Cool Hand Luke,' Dies at 87 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/movies/joy-harmon-dead.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=April 22, 2026}}</ref>}} the daughter of Bernice and Homer Harmon.<ref name="NYT"/> She and her family moved to Connecticut in 1946, and she tied for fourth runner-up in the 1957 competition for Miss Connecticut.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mastronardi |first1=Pete |title=Crosses Fingers to Woo Luck, Crown Brings Joy, With Tears |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110442931/the-bridgeport-post/ |access-date=September 30, 2022 |work=The Bridgeport Post |date=May 6, 1957 |page=18|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Glenn |first1=Taylor |title=So This Is Our Town |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110443054/the-bridgeport-post/ |access-date=September 30, 2022 |work=Progress Bulletin |date=July 14, 1957 |page=B - 2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
When she was three years old, Harmon modeled clothes in [[Movietone News|Fox Movietone News]] newsreels.<ref name="cct">{{cite news |title=Patty Harmon Has Studied Long Time for Show Business Career |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110443205/patty-harmon/ |access-date=September 30, 2022 |work=Corpus Christi Times |date=January 21, 1962 |page=52|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> She skipped two grades in elementary school and graduated from [[Staples High School]] in [[Westport, Connecticut]] in 1956.<ref name="NYT"/><ref name="cct" />
==Career== Harmon's stage debut came in ''Pajama Tops'' at the [[Klein Memorial Auditorium|Klein Memorial Theatre]] in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]]. She toured the United States in [[Repertory theatre|stock company]] productions, including ''[[The Marriage-Go-Round]]'', ''The Solid Gold Cadillac'', ''[[The Tender Trap (play)|The Tender Trap]]'', ''[[The Importance of Being Ernest]]'', and ''Susan Slept Here''.<ref name="cct" /> On [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], Harmon portrayed Betty Phillips in ''Make a Million'' (1958).<ref>{{cite web |title=Joy Harmon |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/joy-harmon-100675 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=September 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930233640/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/joy-harmon-100675 |archive-date=September 30, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> She also appeared in an [[off-Broadway]] production of ''Susan Slept Here'' (1961).<ref>{{cite web |title=Joy Harmon |url=http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/30112 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |publisher=Lucille Lortel Foundation |access-date=September 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930234249/http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/30112 |archive-date=September 30, 2022}}</ref>
Harmon appeared as a contestant during the final season of [[Groucho Marx]]'s television program ''[[You Bet Your Life]]'' (then titled ''The Groucho Show''). She later became a regular on his follow-up series, ''Tell It to Groucho'', where she was credited as "Patty Harmon." This pseudonym was reportedly requested by the show's sponsor, a soap manufacturer, to avoid cross-promoting [[Joy (dishwashing liquid)|a rival brand named "Joy"]].<ref>{{cite podcast | host1 = Matthew Coniam | host2 = Noah Diamond | date = 2025-12-22 | title = The Joy of Marx (featuring Joy Harmon) | url = https://www.marxbrotherscouncilpodcast.com/episodes/2025/12/the-joy-of-marx-with-joy-harmon | website = The Marx Brothers Council Podcast | series = The Marx Brothers Council Podcast | access-date = 2026-02-07 }}</ref>
She guest-starred on several 1960s TV series, including ''[[Gidget (TV series)|Gidget]]'', ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'', and ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]''. She appeared in a cameo role as blonde Ardice in the [[Jack Lemmon]] comedy ''[[Under the Yum Yum Tree]]'' in 1963. She had a role as [[Tony Dow]]'s girlfriend in the 1965–66 television soap opera ''[[Never Too Young]]''.
Harmon's stand-out acting roles include the 30-foot-tall (9 m) Merrie in 1965's ''[[Village of the Giants]],'' where she memorably captures normal-sized [[Johnny Crawford]] and suspends him from her bikini top, and the sultry car-washing Lucille who captivates [[Paul Newman]]'s [[chain gang]] in 1967's ''[[Cool Hand Luke]]''.<ref name="actingthreechildren">{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/movies/2017/11/01/cool-hand-luke-joy-harmon/ |title=Catching up with the woman behind the famous 'Cool Hand Luke' car wash scene |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=November 1, 2017}}</ref>
Her last acting credit was a guest-starring role in the short-lived 1973 [[sitcom]] ''[[Thicker than Water (1973 TV series)|Thicker Than Water]]''. She would eventually leave acting to focus on raising her three children.<ref name=actingthreechildren />
In 2003, she established Aunt Joy's Cakes, a wholesale bakery catering to movie and TV studios,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Alex |date=2026-04-22 |title=Joy Harmon, Car-Washing Temptress in 'Cool Hand Luke,' Dies at 87 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/movies/joy-harmon-dead.html |access-date=2026-04-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], California.<ref name="auntjoy">{{cite web |title=About Us |publisher=Aunt Joy's Cakes |url=http://www.auntjoyscakes.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820074301/http://auntjoyscakes.com/about.html |archivedate=August 20, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hrobit" /> She would continue to work at this bakery until she was hospitalized with [[pneumonia]] weeks before her death.<ref name="harmondetails" />
==Personal life and death== Harmon was married to film editor and producer [[Jeff Gourson]] in 1968, with whom she had three children.<ref name=actingthreechildren /> The couple divorced in 2001.<ref name=hrobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/joy-harmon-dead-cool-hand-luke-woman-washes-car-1236565874/|title=Joy Harmon, the Woman Who Washed the Car in 'Cool Hand Luke,' Dies at 87|first=Mike|last=Barnes|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 15, 2026|accessdate=April 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name=harmondetails>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/joy-harmon-dead-cool-hand-luke-actress-turned-baker-11950915|title=Cool Hand Luke Actress-Turned California Baker Joy Harmon Dies at 87|first=Jack|last=Smart|publisher=People|date=April 15, 2026|accessdate=April 15, 2026}}</ref> For a time, a son worked at [[Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)|Walt Disney Studios]].
Harmon died of [[pneumonia]] while in [[hospice]] care at her [[Los Angeles]] home on April 14, 2026, at the age of 87.<ref name="NYT"/>
==Filmography== {{col-begin}} {{col-break}}
===Film roles=== *''[[The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit]]'' (1956) — Minor Role (uncredited) *''[[Let's Rock]]'' (1958) — Pickup Girl *''[[Mad Dog Coll (1961 film)|Mad Dog Coll]]'' (1961) — Caroline *''[[Under the Yum Yum Tree]]'' (1963) — Ardice (uncredited) *''[[Roustabout (film)|Roustabout]]'' (1964) — College Girl (uncredited) *''[[Young Dillinger]]'' (1965) — Nelson's Girl *''[[One Way Wahine]]'' (1965) — Kit Williams *''[[The Loved One (1965 film)|The Loved One]]'' (1965) — Miss Benson (uncredited) *''[[Village of the Giants]]'' (1965) — Merrie *''[[A Guide for the Married Man]]'' (1967) — Party Girl in Bar (uncredited) *''[[Cool Hand Luke]]'' (1967) — Lucille, The Girl *''[[Angel in My Pocket]]'' (1969) — Miss Holland {{col-break}}
===Television roles=== *''[[Tell It To Groucho]]'' (1961) — Series co-host *''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'' (1963) — Kitty *''[[My Three Sons]]'' (1964) — Joanne Grant *''[[Burke's Law (1963 TV series)|Burke's Law]]'' (1964–1965) — Barbara Sue / Belle Sue Walsh *''[[Gidget (TV series)|Gidget]]'' (1965) — Blonde Girl Dancing / Midge (uncredited) *''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' (1966) — Julia Davis (uncredited) *''[[Gomer Pyle – USMC]]'' (1966) — Barbara *''[[Bewitched]]'' (1966) — Francie *''[[The Rounders (TV series)|The Rounders]]'' (1966) — Rosetta *''[[Occasional Wife]]'' (1967) — Model *''[[That Girl]]'' (1967) — Miss Bridges *''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'' (1967) — Cashier in S2:E2, "The Picture Frame" *''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'' (1967) — Zelda in S2:E14, "Monkees on the Wheel" *''[[Love, American Style]]'' (1972) — Rosalie (segment "Love and the Secret Habit") *''[[The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)|The Odd Couple]]'' (1972) — Waitress *''[[Thicker than Water (1973 TV series)|Thicker Than Water]]'' (1973) — (final appearance) {{col-end}}
==References== {{notelist}} {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0363518}} * {{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Steve |date=1998-06-15 |title=Bombshells: Glamour Girls of a Lifetime |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9781429956222 |pages=43– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcAkc8EK29gC&pg=PT43 |accessdate=May 6, 2012}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Joy}} [[Category:1938 births]] [[Category:2026 deaths]] [[Category:American film actresses]] [[Category:American television actresses]] [[Category:People from Flushing, Queens]] [[Category:American bakers]] [[Category:20th-century American beauty pageant contestants]] [[Category:Actresses from Queens, New York]] [[Category:Actresses from Connecticut]] [[Category:21st-century American women]] [[Category:American stage actresses]] [[Category:Broadway theatre people]] [[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]