Joan Kenlay is famous as the ex-wife of the late American-born actor, singer, and stuntman Robert Conrad.
Married To Conrad For 25 Years
Kenlay and Conrad were head over heels in love, so they eloped because Kenlay came from a wealthy family, and they feared her parents would not accept Conrad as their son-in-law.
At the time, Conrad was just 17 years old and had yet to start his career. Initially, he did a handful of jobs to make ends meet.
When they became parents, the income was insufficient, so he started singing in the cafes.
Conrad resembled actor James Dean, so he appeared outside the Chicago theater as a publicity stunt for a week when Dean's 1956 film Giant was screened.
A year later, while visiting Dean's graveyard site in Fairmount, Indiana, he met actor Nick Adams, who, after becoming friends, suggested he move to California to pursue acting.
Adams helped him get a small part in a non-speaking role in the 1958 movie Juvenile Jungle, allowing him to join the Screen Actors Guild.
He eventually signed a contract with Warner Bros, and the rest is history.
As his career started to take off, Kenlay and Conrad decided to separate. They divorced amicably in 1977.
Welcomed Five Kids With Conrad
Her marriage to Conrad gave birth to their five beautiful kids, Joan, Nancy, Shane, Christy, and Christian. Nancy was born on the day of her father’s 19th birthday.
Nancy followed in her father’s footsteps. She is an actress known for her roles in Black Sheep Squadron, Sudden Death, and The Rockford Files.
In an interview, she described her father as very hard-working.
She also said that her father gets impatient and starts ranting and raving when people drag his feet, and he needs to be taken aside to show why things might not be going well.
Age And Net Worth
Her ex-husband, Robert, died at the age of 84. His net worth was $2 million.
She Handled The Financial Matters Of Her Ex-Husband, Conrad, Even After The Divorce
Following their divorce, Kenlay and Conrad remained on good terms. There were no issues in jointly co-parenting their five kids.
Even after his divorce, he referred to Kenlay as his wife. In an interview, he talked about how he and Kenlay had been co-parenting their kids.
He said he and his wife tried to see that their children were honest, hard-working, and moral.
Conrad Had A Near-Death Experience
Conrad did most of his stunts alone as a stuntman, which was not easy.
It required countless practice, training, tricks, and tumbles, but even with all the training and skills, it may sometimes not work as expected and sometimes lead to danger.
During an interview with Pioneers of Television, he recalled one of the moments when a stunt went wrong, and he had a near-death experience while filming “ The Nights of the Fugitives.”
He said they had choreographed it, and he had to jump off the second floor onto the chandelier.
One of the guys was supposed to stop his forward motion, and he was supposed to kick him through a window, but he was late going to him, so he asked to do it again.
But when they did the second time, it turned out to be the worst as the guy got too late and didn’t stop his forward momentum.
His hands slid, and he fell 15 feet to the floor and had a high temporal concussion and a six-inch linear fracture of the skull.
How Did Conrad Die?
Conrad sadly passed away on the 8th of February, 2020, of heart failure. He was 84. He died in Malibu, California.
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