Joan Castle "J. C." Joseff (August 12, 1912 – March 24, 2010) was an American jeweler and businesswoman, owner of

Joseff of Hollywood 300px, Joseff's earrings Joseff of Hollywood was a jewelry firm, founded by Eugene Joseff. The firm was particularly noted for creating costume jewelry for many of the biggest films and movie stars of the 1930s and 1940s, including Shirley Temple ...

and Joseff Precision Metal Products from 1948 to 2010.

Early life

Gladys Ellice Joan Castle was born in

Cochrane, Alberta Cochrane ( ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. The town is located west of the Calgary city limits along Highway 1A. Cochrane is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, and with a population of 32,199 ...

and raised in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, the daughter of Edgar W. Castle and Lottie Elizabeth Coates Castle. Her father was born in the United States, and her mother was born in England. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Career

Castle began working at Joseff of Hollywood as a secretary, and in time married the owner. She was a widow with a small son when she took over her husband's businesses in 1948, and continued both. Joseff of Hollywood researched, created and rented jewelry for the film industry, and under her leadership, also for television programs, including ''

Queen for a Day ''Queen for a Day'' is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. ''Queen for a Day'' originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945, in ...

'' and ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

''. She also launched a retail line of Joseff jewelry, sold in department stores nationwide, and represented her company's aesthetic in publicity stills with movie stars. She also ran Joseff Precision Metal Products, which made precision parts for aviation and aerospace manufacturers, beginning during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. "Making precision parts and precision jewelry is very similar," she assured ''The New York Times'' in a 1950 profile. In 1958, she was named Successful Business Woman by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Accountants. She never officially resigned the position of president, but in the 1990s her daughter-in-law Tina Joseff became general manager of the family businesses. Joseff was active in the

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is Southern California's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing the interests of more than 235,000 businesses in L.A. County, more than 1,400 member companies and more than 722,430 employ ...

and in

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politics; she twice served as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

. In 2004, the Republican National Congressional Committee's Business Advisory Council named Joseff "Businesswoman of the Year".

Personal life

Joan Castle married Eugene Joseff in 1942. Their son Jeffrey was born in 1947. Eugene Joseff died in a plane crash in 1948. Joan Joseff lived in

Toluca Lake Toluca Lake is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owner ...

, and died in 2010, aged 97 years, in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

. In 2017, over 600 pieces of Joseff jewelry, many seen in classic films, were sold at auction in Los Angeles.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseff, Joan Castle 1912 births 2010 deaths People from Cochrane, Alberta American women in business American jewellers University of California, Los Angeles alumni 21st-century American women Women jewellers