Joy Harmon, Cool Hand Luke Actress, Dies at 87

Joy Harmon, the actress best known for her memorable car-washing scene in the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke," died Tuesday at her home in the Los Angeles area. She was 87.

Harmon passed away surrounded by family after a several-week battle with pneumonia, according to relatives. She had been working at her Burbank bakery, Aunt Joy's Cakes, the day before her hospital admission. A family member said she spent one to two weeks in the hospital, followed by several weeks at a rehabilitation center, before returning home for hospice care. "She fought until the end," the relative told reporters, adding that Harmon had been expected to recover fully and resume her work at the bakery.

Born Patricia Joy Harmon in Queens, New York, in 1940, she began her career as a child model and pageant contestant, reaching the finals of the Miss Connecticut competition as a teenager. Her early entertainment ventures included off-Broadway theater and a Broadway debut at age 18 in the 1958-59 comedy "Make a Million." Comedian Groucho Marx spotted her as a contestant on the final season of his quiz show "You Bet Your Life" in 1960, leading to her role as his assistant and announcer on the follow-up program...