Natalie Joyce(1902-1992)

Natalie Joyce was born Natalie Marie Johnson in Virginia. She was one of eight children and her family moved to Pennsylvania when she was young. At the age of eighteen Natalie moved to New York to be an actress. She danced in the Ziegfeld Follies and was offered a movie contract at Christie Studios. Natalie was cast a vamp in comedies like Savage Love and Take Your Choice. Meanwhile her cousin Olive Borden had become a successful actress. Natalie and Olive were both chosen to be WAMPAS "Baby Stars" in 1925 and they worked together in the melodrama Dance Hall. Natalie was signed by 20th Century Fox and given the lead role in the Western Whispering Sage. She costarred with Tom Mix in The Circus Ace and with Marie Prevost in A Girl In Every Port. By 1930 her career has stalled and she was appearing in low budget films. Natalie claimed that she never got any good roles because she would not sleep with the producers. She married William Morris Pryce and retired from acting. The couple moved to Hawaii where they opened a successful beauty salon. The had one son named Michael. After Natalie left Hollywood she lost touch with her cousin Olive who died 1947. When asked about Olive many years later Natalie said "She was really something there for a while." Natalie and her husband William later relocated to San Diego. She died on November 9, 1992 at the age of ninety. Her husband died four months later.