Joan Woodbury appeared in her first film, ''Eight Girls in a Boat,'' in 1933 and went on to play a wide range of roles, becoming known as Hollywood's leading lady of B movies.
She appeared in a number of "Charlie Chan" entries of the 1930s, particularly Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) wherein she turned heads performing a very sultry dance routine. A resilient western player as well, she appeared opposite a number of cowboy heroes including William Boyd [Hopalong Cassidy], Roy Rogers and Johnny Mack Brown among others. Her her first co-
Miss Woodbury retired from films in 1963 and that year helped found the Valley Players Guild in Palm Springs, where she worked in more than 120 productions over 25 years.