'Cool Hand Luke' Actress Joy Harmon Dead at 87

Joy Harmon - best known for her role in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke - died at the age of 87.

Harmon died at her home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 15, according to TMZ. The beloved actress was "surrounded by family, after getting sick with pneumonia several weeks earlier," the outlet reported.

After a successful career in Hollywood, Harmon opened a bakery in Burbank called Aunt Joy's Cakes, where she worked until her death.

"Aunt Joy's Cakes started in the kitchen of her home in California. The name originated when Joy Harmon began supplying cakes to her niece's coffee shop. Whenever she made a delivery her niece would cheer, 'Aunt Joy's cakes are here!'" the company website explains. "Then Joy Harmon started supplying her desserts to Disney Studios, where her son worked and spread the word about his mom's mouthwatering cakes and cookies. Her homemade desserts were becoming very popular, and Joy Harmon started supplying her baked goods to many more studios in the Los Angeles area."

According to a family member who spoke with TMZ, Harmon "spent 1 to 2 weeks in the hospital, followed by a several-week stint at a rehabilitation center, and then returned home to spend her final days on hospice care and with her loved ones."

In addition to her role in Cool Hand Luke, alongside Paul Newman and George Kennedy, Harmon starred with Groucho Marx on the television shows You Bet Your Life and Tell It to Groucho. She also had roles in films such as Village of the Giants and "Angel in my Pocket,"

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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 1:00 PM.