Alice Joyce

Personal life

Alice Joyce was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to John Edward and Vallie Olive McIntyre Joyce (1873–1938). She had a brother, Francis "Frank" Joyce (1893–1935), who was 2 years younger who later became an entertainment manager.

By 1900, her parents' marriage fell apart, and her father, John, took custody of little Alice and Frank and moved to Falls Church, Virginia, where Joyce spent most of her childhood. According to the 1910 Census, her mother, Vallie, remarried in 1900 to Leon Faber, and they resided in the Bronx, New York, along with Alice and her brother, Frank, where she was employed as a "photographer's model" and appeared in illustrated songs.

Leap to stardom

It was director Sidney Olcott at the Kalem Company in New York City who gave Alice Joyce her first chance, casting her in his 1910 production, The Deacon's Daughter. She was eventually sent to work under director Kenean Buel on the West Coast after Kalem acquired the old Essanay Studios property in East Hollywood in October 1913. Joyce spent time with Kalem (1910–1915) and Vitagraph (1916–1921), later worked as independent for various studios. Her stardom began to wane with the advent of sound motion pictures.

Marriages

Alice Joyce was married three times, the first time in 1914 to actor Tom Moore with whom she had a daughter, Alice Joyce Moore (1916–1960). They divorced in 1920. The same year she married James B. Regan, son of the managing director of the old Knickerbocker Hotel; her second daughter was born during this union. They divorced in 1932, shortly after which the actress declared bankruptcy before she married for a third time. Her last marriage came in 1933 in Virginia City, Nevada, to film director Clarence Brown; they separated in 1942 and divorced in 1945. The actress retained Brown's name. During their separation, she sued him for reparation on cruelty charges. She resided in Northridge, California. In 1946, after Joyce was seriously injured in a traffic accident, Brown remained with her for nine hours and paid her medical bills.

Retirement

Joyce was known as "The Madonna of the Screen" for her striking features and presence. She made her last movie in 1930, after which she and ex-husband Tom Moore worked a late vaudeville circuit for a time. She declared voluntary bankruptcy in 1933. Joyce was active in San Fernando Valley women's organizations in her later years. She did book reviews and made sketches for friends.

The actress was ill for several years before her death from a blood and heart ailment at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. She was 65 years old. On her death in 1955, Alice Joyce was interred next to her mother, Vallie, in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California. Alice Joyce was survived by two daughters, Mrs. Alice Moore de Tolley of Dover, Delaware, and Mrs. Peggy Harris of Clark Fork, Idaho. The actress also had one grandchild and a nephew. She left an estate valued at $175,000, with a gross income of approximately $27,600. Her daughters received a collection of jewelry, including an eight-carat (1.6 g) emerald-cut diamond ring and a 55 carat (11 g) star sapphire ring. The remainder of the estate was placed in trust under terms of the will. The income from this was divided equally between Joyce's daughters.