(7 August 1949 - 16 May 1957) (divorced)
January 49 She denies she will marry John Ireland, with whom she`s seen frequently.
Early April 49
dates actor John Ireland. Ireland, whose divorce is due, has two children, Peter and John, from his marriage to Elaine Sheldon Rosen. "He was a former beau of Shelley Winters before Errol Flynn took over."
April 49
Kilgallen reports Ireland begging for a release from his five-year Columbia Pictures contract. "He says he needs bigger money now that he`s going to marry Mrs. Dick Haymes..."
Mid-April 49
Winchell writes that "the John Ireland-Joanne Dru idyll has melted. Shelley Winters is helping him mark time until his divorce arrives..."
May 49
Motion Picture reports that she and Haymes where on the verge of splitting up months before the final break came. The clincher was Dick’s torrid romance with Nora Eddington Flynn, the ex of Errol Flynn. "Joanne’s now getting plenty of consolidation from actor John Ireland."
Mid-May 49
columnist Sheila Graham asks John Ireland if he`s going to marry Joanne: "I`d like to marry her 24 minutes after she gets her Nevada divorce."
Late May 49
is seen with Ireland at the Saddle and Sirloin. Then they are "off together to Lake Tahoe. John will sit it out with Joanne for the six weeks of her divorce residence. They will marry in September."
July 49
she and Ireland plan to marry in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in a couple of weeks when he finishes Cargo to Capetown
17 July 49
she and Ireland are noticeably absent at the Dick Haymes-Nora Eddington nuptials
July 49
is reported redecorating the big house in the Valley that she shared with Haymes. "That is where she and John Ireland will live after they marry."
8 August 49
at night, she marries Ireland in the garden of La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, California. He`s 35; she`s 27. Superior Judge Joe L. Shell of San Diego performs the informal, single ring ceremony. Gregory Peck is best man and Barbara Ford is maid of honor.
September 49
she and Ireland are reported selling the big house she inherited from Haymes. "The six servants required for its upkeep are four too many."
May 50
is seen at Ciro’s with husband John Ireland
the Irelands attend a party given at Ciro’s for Dorothea Lee McEvoy, Screen Guide’s editorial director
February 52
defends stars like Joan Fontaine, who escape taxes overseas. The new tax law allows a person to skip the income tax for 18 months if you live outside the country during that period. "It`s a great idea," she beams. "My husband, John Ireland, has been offered five or six movies overseas, and we`ll go if I can get some work, too." Joanne got stuck with $35,000 of Haymes` back taxes that he couldn`t pay, so she can bank only 12 percent of her paycheck. "Uncle Sam picks up the rest."
May 52
she and Ireland are scheduled to open a summer stock tour in Chicago on June 30
July 52
she and Ireland are a big hit in John Loves Mary, opening in Wheeling, Illinois. Columnist Harrison Carroll reports: "It was no secret to their friends that Joanne and John had a tiff before they left on the road. Understand it started at Olive Carey`s party. The reason would startle you."
Aug 52
Carroll reports that there is no truth to the divorce rumors. "Joanne Dru and John Ireland assure me in a telephone call from Boston. They say they have had a wonderful summer and are breaking records on their straw hat circuit tour."
October 52
files suit against Haymes in Washoe County, Nevada, alleging he failed to abide by the terms of a divorce agreement entered into on April 28, 1949. The complaint says that the agreement called for Haymes to pay her for her share of federal and state income taxes under the community property law for the first four months of 1952. The taxes, according to her, total $20,122.37.
February 53
tells Carroll that she and Ireland "couldn`t be happier, except if we had money - lots of it"
March 53
will be in the upcoming Trigger Man, co-directed by her husband, Ireland
October 53
with Gatling Gun winding up, she is off to join Ireland in London, England, where he`s filming The Good Die Young. Her mother, Jean Macaro, moves in to care for the children. Carroll reports that Joanne already paid up the half of Haymes` taxes: "She says it cost her $47,000.
November 53
plans a short trip to Rome for talks with the Ponti-di Laurentiis company. "These producers want her as the feminine star of Attila, Scourge of God, which they film in Italy." But in the end, she and Ireland never get to Rome. "We wanted to," she says, "but we stayed a week in Paris and spent all our money."
November 54
she and Ireland advertise for Camel. The ad hails them "man-and-wife partners in sparkling new film hits"
?
she and Ireland sue producer Jack Broder over Hannah Lee. They say they gave up their interest in the film for a lump sum payment. The settlement of the suit is disclosed in Hollywood on December 6.
September 55
she and Ireland throw a party at the Captain`s Table. Among the guests: Greg Bautzer and Jean Smith, the Robert Newtons, Franchot Tone stag, and the Vincent Prices. Liberace comes with Hollywood newcomer Gina Hunter.
October 55
she, Ireland, and Don Budge are reported partners in a new tennis club in Phoenix, Arizona
December 55
she and Ireland toss a soiree at the Captain`s Table to celebrate the opening of their new Resort Club in Phoenix, Arizona
Early July 56
she and Ireland are in the headlines because she turned up with a shiner and a bruised nose. Both are hospitalized at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital; she with facial injuries, and Ireland with an unexplained ailment. She says she injured her face when her head struck the rear-view when the car in which she was riding with Ireland slammed into a garage door. There are rumors the black eye is the result of a ruckus that started at a gay July 4 barbecue party at the home of producer Mark Stevens. Ireland says he took some sleeping pills that made him sick. Both emphatically deny they are considering a separation.
10 July 56
nursing two black eyes, she announces in Hollywood that she and Ireland have agreed on a trial separation because "we want a little time to work out our problems. We have no intention at the moment of going to lawyers." Her film Drango has to stop shooting for a week.
August 56
Winchell knows that "it`s final this time. She will file for divorce against John Ireland."
Early August 56
returns to the set of Drango. Makeup, she says, is hiding the last traces of discoloration in the eye. Her absence from work cost Jeff Chandler`s Drango company $10,000. Ireland tells columnist Harrison Carroll: "Why don`t you ask Joanne what`s going to happen?"
Late August 56
columnist Lee Mortimer knows: "When Joanne left the coast to come east, she heard Ireland was planning to fly on the same plane so she changed her reservation at the last minute to another line under an assumed name. John was apparently tailing her and popped in on that plane just at flight time. In New York, he followed her from restaurant to restaurant, insisting on sitting at her table with her friends. The blow-off came at Sardi`s when she threatened to leave if he didn`t get up. So he went to the bar and waited there until she left and followed her out. Now that she`s playing in The Moon is Blue in Andover, Massachusetts, she`s afraid to leave the hotel or theater, much to the misery of her producer who wants to show her off for publicity."
September 56
columnist Earl Wilson tells that she and Ireland will sell their $125,000 Racquet Club
5 November 56
files suit for divorce from Ireland in Hollywood charging extreme cruelty
December 56
has a battle royal over the phone with John Ireland who wants to make up with her over his escort at the Sands, Las Vegas, eye-filling Vanita Ratcliff
January 57
tells Harrison Carroll that she`d like "to get things rolling on the divorce from John Ireland. She attended the Anastasia premiere with Richard Gully. The man she sees the most of, though, is Dell Armstrong, make-up expert and pal of Lana Tuner and Lex Barker. Ireland isn`t being lonely, either. He was at the Marquis with Barbara Anderson."
16 May 57
is granted a divorce from Ireland in Los Angeles Superior Court on testimony that he had become too hard to live with. A total of $53,388.66 in unpaid income taxes and bills, which they managed to accumulate through their eight-year marriage, is given. A settlement provides that both will pitch in and pay off the bills from proceeds of the sale of their home and from their earnings. He`s 42; she`s 34.