Joan Shawlee
Joan Shawlee (Fulton; March 5, 1926 – March 22, 1987) was an American film and television actress. She is known for her recurring role as Fiona "Pickles" Sorrell in The Dick Van Dyke Show, a career-defining turn in Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) playing Sweet Sue, the abrasive martinet in charge of Marilyn Monroe's all-girl jazz band, and as the flamboyant Madame Pompey in the 1957 Maverick episode "Stampede" with James Garner. She was sometimes credited under her birth name.
Also recorded as Joan Fulton
Joan Shawlee

Studio Publicity · [1] · Public domain
- Name
- Joan Shawlee
- Born
- 5 March 1926
- Birthplace
- Forest Hills, New York, U.S.
- Died
- 22 March 1987
- Place of death
- Hollywood, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Joan Shawlee (Fulton; March 5, 1926 – March 22, 1987) was an American film and television actress. She is known for her recurring role as Fiona "Pickles" Sorrell in The Dick Van Dyke Show, a career-defining turn in Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) playing Sweet Sue, the abrasive martinet in charge of Marilyn Monroe's all-girl jazz band, and as the flamboyant Madame Pompey in the 1957 Maverick episode "Stampede" with James Garner. She was sometimes credited under her birth name.
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Note VALÉORINE
Joan Shawlee (1926–1987) was an actor, actress and film actor, among other activities, of American nationality. The actor was born in Forest Hills and died in Hollywood. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 30 September 2026
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wikidata · Q433403 · wikipedia · Joan Shawlee
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Joan Shawlee • Born — 5 March 1926 • Birthplace — Forest Hills, New York, U.S. • Died — 22 March 1987 • Place of death — Hollywood, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Remains scattered at sea • Other Names — Joan Fulton Joyce Ring • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1945–1986 • Children — Angela Shawlee, Walter Shawlee
Early years
Early years
Shawlee was born in Forest Hills, New York to Theodore Cuyler Fulton, an automobile salesman, and Esther L. (Ring) Fulton. She moved with her parents and two brothers, Theodore Cuyler Fulton Jr. and Albert Fulton, to Vancouver, British Columbia, when she was five years old.
Career
Career
=
Dancing and modeling =
Dancing and modeling =
Shawlee studied ballet under Ernest Belcher. At the age of fourteen, she began to work as a model for the John Robert Powers agency in New York, and worked later as a showgirl on Broadway. Billed as Joyce Ring, she appeared in the musical productions By Jupiter (1942) and A Connecticut Yankee (1943).
Television
Television
Shawlee had a recurring role on TV in The Dick Van Dyke Show as Fiona "Pickles" Sorrell, wife of writer Maurice "Buddy" Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam). She played the lead in The Adventures of Aggie (1956–57), which ran for only one season. She played Lorna Peterson on Betty Hutton's short-lived series Goldie; Margo on the 1976–77 crime drama The Feather and Father Gang; and Tessie on Joe's World. She was also a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show. She played a dead criminal's wife in Stories of the Century with Jim Davis and a 1957 episode of Maverick titled "Stampede", starring James Garner and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., in which she portrayed the exuberant Madame Pompey. Her final acting appearance was in an episode of Crazy Like a Fox in 1985.
Comedy team
Comedy team
In the early 1960s, Shawlee and actress Mitzi McCall teamed up as a night club act. They opened at the Club Robaire in Cleveland. In January 1961, syndicated newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen reported that the team was "causing quite a stir", while drawing attention to – and exaggerating – their discrepancy in height: "Joan being six feet, three inches tall and Mitzi four feet, 10 inches short."
Personal life
Personal life
Shawlee and her second husband, Eddie Barchet, had a daughter, Angela.
Death
Death
Shawlee died of breast cancer, in Hollywood, California, on March 22, 1987, aged 61. She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.
Filmography
Filmography
=
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1952–1953 — My Little Margie — Sandra Fleming — 2 episodes • 1953 — The — The Registrar / Marion — 2 episodes • Your Jeweler's Showcase — Janice — Episode: "Lady's Choice" • General Electric Theater — Angie McGonigle — Season 2 Episode 12: "The Marriage Fix" • The — Miss Brown / Telephone Operator / Twin Waitresses (uncredited) / Opera-Loving Lady in Park / Marriage License Bureau Clerk / Cash Register Lady / Eyewitness in Courtroom / Receptionist / Girl in Doctor's Office — 8 episodes • 1954 — The — Season 1 Episode 17: "Farewell Performance" • Stories of the Century — Sarah Brinkley — Season 1 Episode 21: "The Doolin Gang" • 1956 — Ethel Barrymore Theatre — Season 1 Episode 5: "The Peabody's" • 1956–1957 — The — Aggie — Series regular • 1957 — Maverick — Madame Pompey — Season 1 Episode 9: "Stampede" • 1958 — Zorro — Barmaid Clara — 2 episodes • 1959–1960 — The — Lorna — 11 episodes • 1961 — Some Like It Hot — Sweet Sue — TV Movie • The — Mary Woodson — Season 3 Episode 32: "The Lonesome Bride" • 1963 — The — Pickles Sorrell — 3 episodes • The — Dr. Hornsby — Season 1 Episode 1: "Man It's Like Progress" • Glynis — Dance Hall Hostess — Season 1 Episode 2: "Ten Cents a Dance" • 1965 — Hazel — Mrs. Fox — Season 5 Episode 3: "How to Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Minutes" • 1967 — Run for Your Life — Landlady — Season 2 Episode 23: "The Assassin" • The — Ruby - San Fernando's Secretary — Season 17 Episode 13: "Little Old Rainmaker: He" • 1968 — Adam-12 — Mrs. Lorena Getz — Season 1 Episode 3: "Log 11: It's Just a Little Dent, Isn't It?" • Something for a Lonely Man — Hooker — TV Movie • The — Mrs. Bronson — Season 1 Episode 14: "Pineapple Rose" • 1970 — Love, American Style — Bernice Franks — Season 1 Episode 21: "segment: Love and the Marriage Counselor" • Storefront Lawyers — Aunt Sadie — Season 1 Episode 3: "Murph Collins vs. Tomorrow" • 1971 — Arnie — Myra — Season 2 Episode 3: "Honey, I'm Sorry, But..." • Columbo — Mitilda — Season 1 Episode 4: "Suitable for Framing" • Dead Men Tell No Tales — Polly Grant — TV Movie • 1972 — The — Josie — Season 1 Episode 5: "Covenant with Death" • 1974 — The — Trudy Kroll — Season 1 Episode 11: "The Illusion of the Curious Counterfeit: Part I" • Mannix — (Annie) Duchess — Season 7 Episode 21: "Mask for a Charade" • Movin' On — Juleen Wallace — Season 1 Episode 2: "Roadblock" • 1974–1976 — Emergency! — Wife / Heather — 2 episodes • 1975 — Matt Helm — The Saleslady — Season 1 Episode 0: "Matt Helm" • S.W.A.T. — Parlor Owner — Season 1 Episode 11: "Blind Man's Bluff" • Police Story — Emma — Season 3 Episode 6: "Face for a Shadow" • 1976–1977 — The — Margo — Series regular • 1977 — The — Joanie Biederbeck — Season 1 Episode 13: "Case: The Hooper Affair" • Never Con a Killer — Margo — TV Movie • 1978 — Quincy M.E. — Nurse — Season 4 Episode 8: "No Way to Treat a Body" • Starsky and Hutch — Mrs. Krupp — Season 4 Episode 12: "Starsky's Brother" • 1979 — Delta House — Verona Margolefsky — Season 1 Episode 5: "The Lady in Weighting" • 1980 — The — Agnes — Season 1 Episode 13: "Dorm Window" • Joe's World — Tessie — 2 episodes • 1981 — Child Bride of Short Creek — Isaac's Mother — TV Movie • 1981–1982 — Hart to Hart — Mrs. Goodrich / Marie — 2 episodes • 1982 — Archie Bunker's Place — Joanie — Season 4 Episode 1: "Archie's Night Out" • 1985 — Highway to Heaven — Woman in Park — Season 1 Episode 20: "The Banker and the Bum" • Crazy Like a Fox — Manager — Season 1 Episode 12: "Suitable for Framing"
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1987
Joan Shawlee died on 22 March 1987.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Forest Hills.
Birth place
Hollywood.
Death place
Film
Film
A tall woman (5'9"), she was known for small parts in Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder films. She is probably best remembered for her role as bandleader Sweet Sue in Some Like It Hot (1959) starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Lemmon. She appeared as Sylvia in The Apartment (1960), and as Amazon Annie in Irma la Douce, both of which starred Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. She also appeared in Wilder's final film, Buddy Buddy (1981).
Film =
Film =
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1945 — Men in Her Diary — Courtroom Spectator — Uncredited • This Love of Ours — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • Frontier Gal — Hostess — Uncredited • 1946 — Because of Him — Autograph Seeker • Idea Girl — Mabel • Swing High, Swing Sweet — Short • Tangier — Rocco's Blonde • House of Horrors — Stella McNally • The — Mamie 'Baby' Willis • Inside Job — Ruth • Lover Come Back — Janie • Cuban Pete — Ann • White Tie and Tails — Virgie • 1947 — I'll Be Yours — Blonde • The — Soubrette • Song of Scheherazade — French Girl — Uncredited • Buck Privates Come Home — Sylvia Hunter • The — Ben's Girl • 1950 — Woman on the Run — Tipsy Blonde in Bar • Prehistoric Women — Lotee • 1951 — Two Tickets to Broadway — Tall Brunette in Boardinghouse — Uncredited • 1952 — The — Tall Party Dancer / Woman at Airport (uncredited) • Sound Off — Showgirl — Uncredited • Something for the Birds — Woman in Subway Station — Uncredited • Because of You — Autograph Seeker — Uncredited • 1953 — All Ashore — Hedy • Loose in London — Tall Girl at Party — Uncredited • From Here to Eternity — Sandra — Uncredited • 1954 — Pride of the Blue Grass — Mrs. Casey • Casanova's Big Night — Beatrice D'Brizzi — Uncredited • About Mrs. Leslie — Jill - Nightclub Girl • Francis Joins the WACS — Sergeant Kipp • A Star Is Born — Joan — Uncredited • 1955 — Bowery to Bagdad — Velma 'Cindy Lou' Calhoun • Conquest of Space — Rosie McCann • Born for Trouble — Aggie Anderson • 1957 — A Farewell to Arms — Blonde Nurse — Uncredited • 1959 — Some Like It Hot — Sweet Sue • 1960 — The — Sylvia • 1963 — Critic's Choice — Marge Orr • Irma la Douce — Amazon Annie • 1964 — Guerillas in Pink Lace — Miss Gloria Maxine • 1966 — The — Momma Monahan • 1967 — The — Blonde in Bar • The — Edna, Frank's Girlfriend — Uncredited • Tony Rome — Fat Candy • 1968 — Live A Little Love A Little — Robbie's Mother • 1971 — One More Train to Rob — Big Nellie • Willard — Alice • 1975 — Flash and the Firecat — Rose • Farewell, My Lovely — Garrulous Woman in Dance Hall • 1981 — Buddy Buddy — Receptionist • Longshot — Motel Manager • 1982 — Kiss My Grits — Wanda • 1984 — City Heat — Peggy Barker
References ==== External links
References ==== External links
*
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Folkart, Burt A. Joan Shawlee; Busy Actress in Zany Comedies. Los Angeles Times. 31 March 1987.
- 2.Actress Joan Shawlee Dies of Cancer at 58 [sic]. The Associated Press. March 31, 1987.
- 3.Joan Shawlee's date of birth, familysearch.org; accessed February 14, 2016.
- 4."Joan Fulton". My Heritage. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- 5.J. T. Brown. Wooster Chapter. Catalog of Beta Theta Pi. 1917.
- 6.Joyce Ring. Internet Broadway Database.
- 7.Heffernan, Harold (November 9, 1950). "12 New Film Beauties Selected For Musical". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio.
- 8.Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland. 4. January 10, 2014. 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- 9.They're Back. Los Angeles Times. 54. October 20, 1960.
- 10.Kilgallen, Dorothy. The Voice of Broadway. The Mercury. 4. January 7, 1961.
- 11.Birth record of Angela Barchet
- 12.Joan Shawlee Sparkles Like a Spring Tonic. The Boston Globe. 65. April 30, 1961.
- 13.Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons. McFarland. 19 August 2016. 978-1-4766-2599-7.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,408 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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