In sad news, Joan Weldon , the stage and television actress best known for her performance in the iconic sci- fi monster film Their! , has left us. Although Weldon passed away on February 11, her family had only just announced the news. She was 90 years old.
“With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Joan Louise Weldon Podell, a loving and devoted mother, wife, grandmother and friend, on February 11, 2021,” the family said in Weldon’s obituary. “She passed away peacefully at her home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A talented and successful opera singer and actress in theater, film, musicals and television, she was known simply as Joanie, whose love for light pranks and practical jokes spread joy wherever she went. she went. ”
Weldon was born Joan Louise Welton on August 5, 1930. Abandoned without a mother at the age of six and raised by her grandmother, Joan made her professional debut as a singer at the age of 16 with the San Francisco Opera Company, making her the youngest singer. under contract at the time. She also sang with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, which led to her singing and performing on Broadway. Weldon would go on to land leading roles in stage productions of big shows like The Sound of Music , My Beautiful Lady , The Music Man , and Oklahoma .
During the 1950s, Weldon gained wide acclaim appearing in a multitude of films, including six Warner Bros. classics. His most famous work appears in a starring role as Dr Pat Medford in Them! , a classic “big bug” movie about gigantic irradiated ants attacking people. Always remembered as one of the best creature features of its time, a scene of Weldon as Dr. Medford was included as an Easter Egg in the 2018 Marvel movie Ant-Man and the Wasp .
Released in 1954, the Oscars nominated Their! was one of six films Weldon made for Warner Bros. within a year. Beginning in 1953, Weldon will also be featured in The System , The Grace Moore Story , The Stranger Carried a Gun , Shotgun , and The Command . Weldon would also make several television appearances in the 1950s, with roles on famous shows like Cheyenne , Perry Mason , Maverick , and Shirley Temple Book of Stories . His last acting role was for the 1958 drama At Home Before Dark.
On Twitter , WB Classic Films acknowledged the passing of the actress who starred in so many classic Warner Bros. films during the 1950s. Posting the news of Weldon’s passing, the tweet read: “Sad news – she elevated the movie [Them] into something special! ”
Fans also started paying tribute on social media, with one saddened fan writing: “I just found out that actress Joan Weldon passed away a few weeks ago. She starred in the first horror / sci-fi movie I have ever seen, the 1954 fantasy classic. ‘THEIR!’ which remains one of my favorite movies to this day. Rest in peace Joan. ”
