Joan Dowling

About Joan Dowling

Joan Dowling was born on January 6, 1928 in London, England. Her mother was unmarried and Joan never knew her father. She was primarily raised by her grandmother. Joan dreamed of becoming an actress but she was too poor to afford acting lessons. Despite her lack of training she began auditioning and made her stage debut when she was just fourteen years old. She got rave reviews for her performance in the play No Room At The Inn. A talent scout saw her and offered her a long-term movie contract. Joan's first film role was in 1947 comedy Hue and Cry. On the set she met actor Harry Fowler. They fell in love and were married on September 15, 1951. Joan continued to get small roles in films like Landfall and Pool Of London. She also worked on the radio and appeared in several more plays. In 1952 she starred in a London stage production of Robinson Crusoe. Joan was heartbroken when she discovered her husband was having an affair. On March 31, 1954 the twenty-six year old actress committed suicide. She was found unconscious in the gas filled kitchen in her West London home. Her official cause of death was suicide by asphyxiation. Joan was cremated and buried in London, England. Some of her relatives believe that her death may have been accidental. They think that she was only attempting suicide to scare her husband. Harry Fowler eventually remarried and passed away in 2012.