Posted on 04/16/2026 10:19:17 AM PDT by Kid Shelleen
US actress Joy Harmon, who was best known for a provocative short scene in the classic film Cool Hand Luke, has died aged 87.
Harmon died at home in Los Angeles on Tuesday after being ill with pneumonia for weeks, US media reported.
Her character did not have a line in the Paul Newman prison drama and was only on screen for about three minutes, in a car-washing scene rife with sexual innuendo.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
There are only a few seconds of it but remember the scene when they get back to the prison that night? it is mostly just seconds of high energy sounds from the men, nothing weird, just high energy and an audio indication of agitation.
Paul Newman promised her a part in a movie for....
It was a hard movie for me to watch.
My dad’s father died about 1905. He was 14 and had 7 younger siblings and a mother sick with TB. He stole food and spent time at one of Arkansas’s prison farms.
(Youtube video)
Words don’t help eye candy it causes loss of concentration.
Who says women aren’t armed.
Again, humor escapes you.
three minutes of screen time, without a word of dialogue is an accomplishment that not many achieve in hollywood... and believe me, joy brought a lot of that to the movie...
bust you little safety pin...
Look it up. It is self explanatory for any young male watching the movie.
> movie geek
Absolutely no need to be a movie geek. I’m sure some young man will explain it better. Well, ok, we were young men when it came out. Still needs no explanation ...
Some of us made sure we knew her name.
I think George Kennedy understood what she was doing as well.
gab.ai:
how long did it take to film the joy harmon scene in cool hand luke
The famous “washing the car” scene in Cool Hand Luke (1967), which features Joy Harmon as Lucille, took approximately three days to film.
Director Stuart Rosenberg focused heavily on the visual framing and the reaction shots of the other prisoners to build the tension of the scene. While the scene lasts only about three minutes on screen, the production required extensive preparation to capture the specific aesthetic that made it one of the most iconic sequences in American cinema.
did she have to do a number of takes
Yes, she did. Because the scene relied heavily on specific timing, the choreography of the water, and the synchronized reactions of the other actors, Joy Harmon had to perform numerous takes.
Reports from the set indicate that director Stuart Rosenberg was a perfectionist regarding the pacing and the way the water interacted with the sunlight. Beyond the sheer number of takes required for the main action, the crew also had to repeatedly soak Harmon and reset the car and the hose setup throughout those three days of filming.
She later shared in interviews that the experience was physically draining—not just because of the repetitive takes, but because she had to remain in character and maintain that specific “sultry” expression while being drenched in cold water for hours at a time. The end result, however, became the definitive image of her career.
When you think of all the people she brought joy to with her less than 5 minutes of fame on screen... This woman deserved a nice long life. Good for her.
Beautiful. Groucho wasn’t funny being a little condescending to her. She sure could move the right way.
Well he was pissed enough to fight Luke afterwards.
It is described that the director had a teen cheerleader in a raincoat for the actors to focus on for their reactions.
I don’t think Paul Newman, George Kennedy, and the other stars spent 3 days outdoors together doing reactions to her live carwash scene.
The next line is also appropriate:
“Some men you just cain’t reach.”
I saw her now and then in certain television sitcoms. Her figure, that tan, and those eyes of hers sparked many a fantasy of this pre-teen at the time.
“Don’t you be looking at my Lucille”!
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