Joyce Mathews

Mathews was born Jane Mathews on December 5, 1919, in New York City. She later attended the Ida M. Fisher School in Miami Beach, Florida, where she studied art before entering show business. She subsequently changed her first name from Jane to Joyce.

Mathews began her entertainment career in the late 1930s as a dancer at Nicky Blair’s Paradise nightclub in New York.

She appeared in several motion pictures, including The Big Broadcast of 1938 and Artists and Models Abroad (1938). Additional film credits included All Women Have Secrets (1939), Sudden Money (1939), and Mister Universe (1951).

On Broadway, she appeared in the musical Hold On to Your Hats, associated with Al Jolson. By the early 1950s, she was also working in television.

She was often described variously as a “showgirl” and an “actress,” reflecting her work across nightclub, stage, and screen productions.

Her first marriage was to Gonzales Gomez.

Mathews married comedian Milton Berle on December 5, 1941, in Beverly Hills, California. The couple divorced in 1947, remarried in June 1949, and divorced again in 1950 in the Virgin Islands. They adopted a daughter, Victoria.

In July 1951, Mathews was hospitalized following a reported suicide attempt at the New York apartment of theatrical producer Billy Rose. Rose at the time was still married to Eleanor Holm.

Mathews married Rose July 2, 1956 and they divorced July 23, 1959. They then remarried on December 29, 1961, only to divorce again on February 10, 1964, exactly two years before he died.

In 1974, Mathews married actor Don Beddoe.

By 1977, she owned and operated a travel agency in California.

Mathews lived in California in her later years. She died on January 17, 1999, in Laguna Beach, California, at the age of 79.

Film

Television