Joan Staley

Joan Staley (born Joan Lynette McConchie; May 20, 1940 – November 24, 2019) was an American actress and model. Early life Staley was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of James and Jean McConchie. Her father was a minister, and her mother was a musician who played violin, piano, organ, and viola. She grew up in Los Angeles, California. At age three, Staley's mother took her to a concert, after which Joan requested a violin. When her mother realized she was serious, she obliged. Her first instructor was Karl Moldrem, the founder of the Baby Orchestra in Los Angeles. By age six, Staley had won by audition first chair/second violin in Peter Meremblum's Junior Symphony (André Previn was an alumnus). This led to her first film appearance, as a child violinist, in The Emperor Waltz, starring Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine. Her mother and father were missionaries in Africa, after which her father joined the Army as a chaplain. As the family moved to various postings, Staley attended schools in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Munich, and Paris. She briefly attended Chapman College, after which she moved to where her father was stationed in San Francisco to find work, as the only teletype operator at the William R. Stats brokerage firm.