Cool Hand Luke actress Joy Harmon dies aged 87
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Harmon's short and wordless performance in Cool Hand Luke
mesmerised characters in the film and audiences
US actress Joy Harmon, who was best known for a provocative
short scene in the classic film Cool Hand Luke, has died
aged 87.
Harmon died at home in Los Angeles on Tuesday after being
ill with pneumonia for weeks, US media reported.
Her character did not have a line in the Paul Newman prison
drama and was only on screen for about three minutes, in a
car-washing scene rife with sexual innuendo.
In her brief but famous scene, Harmon washes a car and
squeezes soap from a sponge on her body, drawing the
attention and remarks of prisoners who watch as they dig a
ditch.
Although officially credited as The Girl, her character was
called "Lucille" by one of the prisoners distracted by her
car washing.
It became the best known moment of her career, which spanned
32 credited appearances in movies and TV from the 1950s to
the early 1970s, according to IMDB.
"I was just washing a car to the best of my ability and
having fun with it, with the sponge and everything," Harmon
told Entertainment Weekly in 2017.
"My concept of the [scene] was not like what came out. I was
not aware that there were two meanings to things that I was
doing, and I'm still not really that much aware of what they
all were."
Harmon started in the entertainment business as a child model
and pageant queen and worked her way up through appearances
on comedy and quiz shows.
Most of her movie roles were through the 1960s and she also
appeared in series including Bewitched, Batman, The Man from
U.N.C.L.E, The Beverley Hillbillies, The Odd Couple and
The Monkees.
After acting, she worked at Disney Studios and in 2003 she
opened a bakery in Los Angeles but still got fan mail sent to
her every week, US media reports.
Harmon is survived by three children and nine grandchildren.
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