Joan Wheeler Ankrum (January 8, 1913 – December 20, 2001) was an American film actress and founder of the Ankrum Gallery on

La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood to the north. It was named for Rancho Las Cienegas, ...

in Los Angeles.

Life and career

Ankrum was born Joan Natalia Wheeler on January 8, 1913, in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

. Ankrum was one of four siblings. She had one older sister and two younger brothers. She got her start in acting with

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

, where she met her husband, character actor Morris Ankrum. They were married on August 16, 1935, in

Benbow, California Benbow is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California, located beside the South Fork Eel River. It is located south-southeast of Garberville, at an elevation of 440 feet (134 m). Its population is 422 as of the 2020 census, up from 3 ...

, and had 2 sons, David and Cary. Morris Ankrum died in 1964. In 1960, Ankrum founded Ankrum Gallery, which was located on

next to a number of other galleries.

Joseph Hirshhorn Joseph Herman Hirshhorn (August 11, 1899 – August 31, 1981) was an entrepreneur, financier, and art collector. Biography Born in Mitau, Latvia, the twelfth of thirteen children, Hirshhorn emigrated to the United States with his widowed moth ...

contributed some of the initial funding for the gallery, and would go on to be a loyal patron, along with his wife

Olga Hirshhorn Olga Hirshhorn (née Zatorsky) (April 26, 1920 – October 3, 2015) was an American collector of 19th and 20th century art and supporter of art museums. Early life Olga Zatorsky was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, to immigrant parents from Ukraine. ...

. Ankrum initially founded the gallery in order to show her nephew Morris Broderson's work, but the gallery would go on to handle the artwork of other California artists such as

Helen Lundeberg Helen Lundeberg (1908–1999) was a Southern Californian painter. Along with her husband Lorser Feitelson, she is credited with establishing the Post-Surrealist movement. Her artistic style changed over the course of her career, and has been des ...

Richard Bauer Richard Bauer (March 14, 1939 – March 1, 1999) was an American actor. He won an Obie Award in 1978 for his performances in ''Landscape of the Body'' and ''The Dybbuk ''The Dybbuk'', or ''Between Two Worlds'' (russian: Меж двух ми ...

, Hans Burkhard, Suzanne Jackson,

Samella Lewis Samella Sanders Lewis (February 27, 1923 – May 27, 2022) was an American visual artist and art historian. She worked primarily as a printmaker and painter. She has been called the "Godmother of African American Art". She received Distinguished ...

, and

Lorser Feitelson Lorser Feitelson (1898–1978) was an artist known as one of the founding fathers of Southern California-based hard-edge painting. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Feitelson was raised in New York City, where his family relocated shortly after his bir ...

. The Smithsonian Archives of American Art, which holds the gallery's archives, notes that Ankrum Gallery "was among the earliest to exhibit the work of black artists." A 1971 New York Times article about women gallery owners in Los Angeles noted that Ankrum Gallery was "the largest in sales and size in La Cienega Boulevard" at the time. In 1984, Ankrum married co-owner and partner in Ankrum Gallery, actor

William Challee William John Challee (April 6, 1904 – March 11, 1989) was an American actor. Biography Challee was born in Chicago and was a student at Lake View High School. Challee appeared on Broadway by 1926 and by 1931 in early Group Theatre produc ...

. Ankrum was a co-founder of Art Dealers Association of America, and an active member of the Black Arts Council. She also helped organize the Monday Night Art Walk program on La Cienega Boulevard.

Broadway roles

* ''Growing Pains'' (1933) as Prudence * ''Strangers at Home'' (1934) as Jean Crosby * ''Western Waters'' (1937) as Penelope

Selected filmography

* ''

Madame Du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly being ...

'' as Florette, Young Girl at Dear Park * '' Desirable'' as Barbara, 'Babs' * ''

The Merry Frinks ''The Merry Frinks'' is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert. It is also known by the alternative title of ''Happy Family''. Synopsis A put-upon mother inherits a fortu ...

'' as Lucille Frink... aka ''Happy Family'' (UK) * ''

Smarty SMARTY is a mobile telephone flanker brand operated by Hutchison 3G UK Limited using its Three UK branded mobile network. It aims to attract customers primarily looking for cheaper deals than those available direct from Three, by offering a mo ...

'' as Mrs. Bonnie Durham... aka ''Hit Me Again'' (UK) * ''

Twenty Million Sweethearts ''Twenty Million Sweethearts'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright and starring Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, and The Mills Brothers. The film was remade in 1949 as ''My Dream Is Yours''. Plot Agen ...

'' as Marge, the Receptionist

References

External links

* *
Wedgespeaks - Morris Broderson bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Joan 1913 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses Actresses from California American stage actresses American art dealers Women art dealers