Biography

Joanne Beverly Gilbert (July 17, 1932 — April 16, 2025) was an American actress. Gilbert and her family came to Hollywood in 1939. Her father Ray worked for producer Earl Carroll before he joined the Disney songwriting staff, penning lyrics for the Oscar-winning “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”, as well as “Casey at the Bat” and the Andy Williams classic “And Roses and Roses". After pursuing a career as a fashion model in New York City, Gilbert attracted attention as a singer at a famed Hollywood hotstop — her father helped her with her act — leading to her deal at Paramount. After signing a seven-year contract in 1952, Gilbert was “introduced” to filmgoers in the splashy George Marshall-directed Western musical Red Garters (1954), starring Rosemary Clooney, Guy Mitchell, Jack Carson and Gene Barry. Gilbert was married to TV writer and future Barney Miller creator Danny Arnold from June 1955 to August 1956, and to producer and TV executive Edward L. Rissien from 1958 to 1964.