Joan Blackman, Elvis Presley’s ‘Blue Hawaii’ Costar, Dies At 87

Joan Blackman, the actress remembered for starring opposite Elvis Presley in two of his popular movies, has died. Her son, Ngai Tarkington, confirmed that she died at a hospital in Santa Rosa, California, on March 16. She was 87.

According to Yahoo Entertainment, for many classic movie fans, Joan Blackman remains closely connected to Presley through Blue Hawaii and Kid Galahad. However, her Hollywood career extended well beyond those two films. She worked with several major stars and appeared in nearly three dozen film and television roles before leaving the screen in the 1970s.

Joan Blackman Starred Opposite Elvis Presley Twice

Blackman joined Presley in the 1961 musical comedy Blue Hawaii. Presley played Chad Gates, a young man who returns to Hawaii after serving in the military. Instead of entering his family’s fruit business, Chad decides to work in tourism. Blackman played his girlfriend, Maile Duval. Their characters eventually marry and build a future together. The movie also featured several memorable Presley songs and became one of the most recognizable films from his Hollywood career.

A year later, Blackman reunited with Presley in 1962’s Kid Galahad, playing Rose Grogan. Her films with Presley became some of her best-known work, though she had already appeared alongside Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Career and Jerry Lewis in Visit to a Small Planet.

Her Career Stretched Across Film and Television

Born on May 17, 1938, in San Francisco, Joan Blackman started working on television while still a teenager. She appeared on the series Playbill in the mid-1950s before landing more roles. By 1959, she had appeared in the Western Good Day for a Hanging. The following year, she joined Tony Curtis and Karl Malden in The Great Impostor. Her growing career soon led to the Presley movies that introduced her to an even wider audience.