Joy Page (born Joy Cerrette Paige; November 9, 1924 – April 18, 2008) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as the Bulgarian refugee Annina Brandel in '' Casablanca'' (1942). She was sometimes credited as Joanne Page.

Early life

Page was the daughter of Mexican-American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

star

Don Alvarado Don Alvarado (born José Ray Paige, November 4, 1904 – March 31, 1967) was an American actor, assistant director and film production manager. Life and career Born Jose Paige in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Alvarado first studied agriculture ...

(born José Ray Paige, in New Mexico) and Ann Boyar, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. Her parents divorced when she was eight. In 1936, her mother married

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some ...

, then head of

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

studios. Warner, however, did not encourage his stepdaughter's interest in acting.

Career

Page, who initially thought the script to '' Casablanca'' was "old fashioned" and "clichéd", landed the role of Annina Brandel on her own and Warner reluctantly approved. She was only seventeen and fresh out of high school. Page, along with

Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film '' Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme song " As Time Goe ...

and Humphrey Bogart, were the only American-born feature actors in the film. Warner, however, refused to sign Page to a contract, and she never appeared in another Warner Bros. film. She went on to act in a number of films for other studios, including a featured role in her next film, '' Kismet'' in 1944. She was usually billed as Joanne Page, and also made some television appearances. In 1945, Page married actor William T. Orr. He became a Warner Bros. executive, leading to accusations of

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, and ...

. She retired from acting after appearing in the first season of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's miniseries '' The Swamp Fox'' in 1959. The year before, in her final film role, she played Prairie Flower, a Sioux Indian and mother of White Bull, played by

Sal Mineo Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination f ...

, in ''

Tonka Tonka is an American producer of toy trucks. The company is known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes diecast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of ...

''.

Personal life

Page married actor William T. Orr in 1945. She died on April 18, 2008, of complications arising from a stroke and pneumonia."Joy Page, 83; in 'Casablanca', Bogart told her: 'Go back to Bulgaria.'"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', April 24, 2008; accessed August 7, 2014.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Joy 1924 births 2008 deaths American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from pneumonia in California Jewish American actresses American actresses of Mexican descent Actresses from Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses Warner family 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women