Known to horror fans for her role in the creature feature Them!, we’ve learned the sad news today that actress and singer Joan Weldon has passed away at the age of 90 years old.
Weldon’s family says she “passed away peacefully” at home in Florida on February 11.
Joan Weldon, who began her career as a singer before moving into acting, made her feature debut in 1953’s The System, subsequently battling giant ants in the horror movie Them! just one year later. Weldon played Dr. Patricia Medford in the Gordon Douglas-directed film, which centers on massive irradiated ants that have been discovered in the New Mexico desert.
On screen, Joan Weldon’s credits also include So This Is Love (1953), Riding Shotgun (1954), Gunsight Ridge (1957), Day of the Badman (1958), and Home Before Dark (1958). In the world of television, Weldon appeared in episodes of “The Millionaire,” “Perry Mason,” “Have Gun – Will Travel,” “Colt .45,” “Maverick,” “Matinee Theater” and “Shirley Temple’s Storybook.”
As a singer, Joan Weldon performed a song that was featured in the 1954 film Deep in My Heart and she also performed for the television shows “This Is Your Music” and “Cheyenne.” Prior to acting, Weldon sang for the San Francisco Grand Opera Company and the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, and she returned to her true passion after leaving acting behind.
Weldon’s family wrote in a statement, “A talented and successful opera singer and actress of theatre, film, musicals and television, she was simply known to many as Joanie, whose love for light-hearted pranks and practical jokes spread joy wherever she went.”