BIOGRAPHY OF STARS

Chronicle (Levin), 20 June 1946, Page 6

BIOGRAPHY OF STARS

- JOAN LESLIE'S RAPID RISE Joan Leslie was given her first chance to appear on the stage at the age of two because she could sing. Thirteen years later, she was signed for her first motion picture j because she could act. To-day, at the height of x her career, she is a I triple-threat star as an actress, ; dancer and singer. The thirteen j year interval betWeen her first i appearances on the stage and her ; start in motion pictures was spent learning every phase of show bus- ; iness. When Joan was fifteen, she j was Hollywood-bound. Her first , screen role was in the Greto Garbo ! starrer, "Camille." Her work in the j film won her a contract with War- ; ner Bros. where she has remained ! ever since. ' Since 1941 Joan has starred in" many of the greatest pictures pro- i duced by the studio, playing oppos- ; ite some of Hollywood's finest j actors. In "This is the Army" Joan was entrusted with the feminine i lead. So successful was the picture 1 that when "Hollywood Canteen" I was filmed Joan again was given ! the leading feminine role. Her ; versatility has become a byword in Hollywood where versatility is not uncommon. She arrived as a ..dramatic- actress in "The Hard "Way," and she proved herself a *songstress in "Hollywood Canteen." • RtK.G. eon-sidig.red-4'ier^ a pro'fici-ent enough dancer to keep up with Fred ; Astair in "The Sky's the Limit." Joan, whose red hair might conceivably be traced to her Irish ancestry, was born in Detroit in 1925. She was educated there at St. Benedict's ' School, in Toronto and at Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. She is proficient in French and Spanish, a large part of which she learned from teachers at the Warner Studios while working in pictures. Joan is one of the few really homeloving girls in filmland. n She prefers to stay home with her family, loves to cook, and enjoys curling up in a chair with a good book.