Joyce Van Patten

[Nick Danger]

Born: March 9, 1934 in New York City, New York, USA

Joyce Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress. (Note: although Wiki, IMDb and other sources giver her birth year as 1934, for reasons I won't bore you with I suspect she may have been born as early as 1928).

She is the younger sister of actor Dick Van Patten, and aunt to actors Vincent Van Patten, James Van Patten and Nels Van Patten. She was formerly married to the late actor Martin Balsam, and is the mother of actress Talia Balsam, who was briefly married to actors George Clooney and Hal Lynch.

Van Patten has appeared in dozens of television series. She made her prime-time TV debut as a featured regular on The Danny Kaye Show, after which she co-starred with Bob Denver and Herb Edelman in the 1968-70 sitcom The Good Guys as Claudia Gramus, the long-suffering wife of diner owner Bert Gramus (played by Edelman).

Her guest appearances include Gunsmoke, The Untouchables, The Law and Mr. Jones, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show, The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-0, The Bob Newhart Show, The Odd Couple, Lou Grant and Law & Order.

On a 1976 episode of Columbo, Van Patten had a leading role as a museum owner and curator who commits murder. She also played Joyce, the jilted fiancee of Peter Sellers in the cult classic movie I Love You, Alice B. Toklas in 1968.




She played the femlae lead in Larry Cohen's film Bone (1972) -- from Scoopy.com:

Bone is a very dark comedy which explores the fantasies of a Beverly Hills couple (Andrew Duggan and Joyce Van Patten), and the black man who invades their home and holds the wife hostage. Yaphet Kotto - "Bone" - is able to enter their home and dominate them with no weapons of any kind. It is simply the fact that he is large and black that intimidates them completely, playing on the stereotype of the "scary black man." In one of many interesting speeches, Kotto bemoans the fact that, with improved race relations, he has become an outdated stereotype, and people are no longer afraid of him. His original aim was robbery, but he finds that they not only have no cash, but are overdrawn on their bank accounts. Finally, he finds a secret bank account that Duggan has hidden from his wife. Duggan is sent to withdraw the money, while Bone holds his wife captive. The threat is that he will rape and kill her if he doesn't get the money.

Duggan has second thoughts, goes to a bar, and ends up in bed with a cook. Kotto feels like he has to rape Van Patten now that Duggan has not shown up, but finds he can't perform. At that point, Van Patten has a few drinks to fortify herself, then seduces Kotto. At that point, they become partners, and go after Duggan.

Joyce Van Patten shows the full monty, including an explicit split beaver shot

[The Wolf Man]

[King fisher]

[Wendigo]

The Twilight Zone s4 e17 - Passage on the Lady Anne
Episode aired May 9, 1963
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734610/