Joy Harmon, who was best known for her role as Lucille in Cool Hand Luke, has died at the age of 87, her family has confirmed, after she was admitted to hospice care at home
Actress Joy Harmon has died. The 87-year-old became an icon in the 1960s after wowing fans in Cool Hand Luke.
She was best known for her part as car-washer Lucille in the 1967 classic. Sadly, her family has now confirmed her death at home in Los Angeles. She was surrounded by her loved ones.
Her family said she “fought until the end” and had been expected to recover before her death. She had been working in her bakery Aunt Joy’s Cakes on the day before she was taken into hospital.
Speaking to TMZ, a family said she spent “one to two weeks in the hospital”. It was followed by a several-week stint at a rehabilitation centre before she spent her final days on hospice care at home.
She had been sick with pneumonia in the weeks before her death. Fans were quick to share messages of condolence on social media following the sad news.
One user on Twitter /X said: “So sorry to hear of the passing of Joy Harmon. She had so many adorable film and TV appearances, but her car washing scene in COOL HAND LUKE played such a huge part in making that movie so iconic. She also founded Aunt Joy’s Bakery in Burbank which she operated until this week.”
Another added: “Rest in peace to Joy Harmon.The scene wasn’t about acting, it was about selling an image. And clearly, the illusion worked better than people want to admit.”
A third said: “People will always remember Joy Harmon for Cool Hand Luke. But she also had a memorable role in Village of the Giants. #RIPJoyHarmon.”
As well as her role on Cool Hand Luke, Joy starred in films such as Village of the Giants, Angel in my Pocket, and One Way Wahine. She also landed TV roles on series such as Bewitched, The Odd Couple and Batman.
Groucho Marx helped launch her career in Hollywood. He saw her make her Broadway debut at the age of 18 in Make a Million,. After that, he took her onto his quiz show You Bet Your Life.
He then made her the announcer on his later quiz show titled Tell It To Groucho. Joy admitted he would often flirt with her on set.
During a podcast appearance on Vanguard of Hollywood, Joy admitted: “‘He had the reputation of being flirty with women. He was very flirty with me when we were on set.
“But that wasn’t like him at all, because then he would be questioning me: “Where did you go last night? What were you doing? No, you don’t do that.” He was just like a dad to me, but I loved him very much and I went a lot to his house.”
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