
Acting
January 26, 1907 (90 years old)
October 12, 1997
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Also Known As
Olivia Joyce Compton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not originally "Eleanor Hunt"; she had appeared in the film Good Sport (1931) with Hunt and this confusion in an early press article followed Compton throughout her career.) After graduating high school she spent two years studying at the University of Tulsa, studying dramatics, art, music and dancing. She won a personality and beauty contest and spent two months in a film studio as an extra.
Compton first made a name for herself when she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, alongside Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Joan Crawford, Dolores del Río, Janet Gaynor and Fay Wray. Compton appeared in a long string of mostly B-movies from the 1920s through the 1950s. She was a comedy actress and protested at being stereotyped as a "dumb blonde".
Among her over two hundred films were Imitation of Life, Magnificent Obsession, The Awful Truth, Mildred Pierce, and The Best Years of Our Lives.
A devout Christian, on her gravestone, just beneath her dates of birth and death, is written "Christian Actress". She died from natural causes, aged 90, and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Pete and Gladys
1960

Girl in the Woods
1958
as Aunt Martha

Jet Pilot
1957
as Mary Lou Simpson

Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
as Waitress

The Persuader
1957
as Julie

The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956

I Was a Burlesque Queen
1953
as Mrs. Nunnally LaVitte

The Abbott and Costello Show
1952
as Girl at Drivers License Bureau

Mighty Joe Young
1949
as Alice (uncredited)

Grand Canyon
1949
as Mabel

Incident
1948
as Joan Manning

Sorry, Wrong Number
1948
as Cotterell's Blonde Girlfriend (uncredited)

A Southern Yankee
1948
as Hortense Dobson

Linda, Be Good
1947
as Mrs. LaVitte

Exposed
1947
as Emmy

Scared to Death
1947
as Jane Cornell

The Best Years of Our Lives
1946
as Hat Check Girl (uncredited)

Rendezvous with Annie
1946
as Louise Grapa (uncredited)

Dark Alibi
1946
as Emily Evans

Behind the Mask
1946
as Lulu