MWSA Book Review

Bring Joy to Vietnam

Author:  Joy Wilkerson

Publisher: 

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

A Pin-Up Girl, Actress, Race Car Driver, and a USO Entertainer

The book by actress and race car driver Joy Wilkerson is short and only covers a brief time in her adventures in life — but it is packed with punch!  The little book (64 pages), “Bring Joy to Vietnam,” has a lot to offer in a few stories about Joy’s experiences in Vietnam entertaining the troops back in the 1960’s.

Her website is a real trip back to another time and place; when you check out all that she has done with her life.  Having met her in person a couple of years ago at a book event at UCLA, exchanging dozens of emails over that time, several phone calls and even a radio interview with her — I still find out new things about her life and the celebrities she knew and hung around with including a romantic liaison with Johnny Carson.  Her website: www.joywilkerson.com is well worth a look either before or after you read her book.  She has donated most of her sales from the book to Vietnam issues and causes.

For those who served in Vietnam in the 1960’s you would recognize her old photos that were once in the Stars and Stripes.  She was the favorite pin-up girl of that time period and she used to get over 4,000 letters from the guys there each week!  She is still out there supporting veteran causes and issues.

About the Author:

Joy Wilkerson was named as one of the "Two Thousand Women of Achievement-1971."  She was one of the few women to start in the racing business.  Her show biz career started from 1962, with five Danny Thomas S.O. Specials on Television, She was the entertainer for many charities, such as: Blind Children's Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis, March of Dimes, and mainly the U.S.O.  She was awarded the title of: Miss South Vietnam given by all the U.S.A. Military Services, for USO work and after a trip to Vietnam with Dale Robertson in 1967.  Over the course of her career, she has received numerous awards and recognition's for her charitable work given by various branches of military services, and a certificate of achievement from many other charities.

Wilkerson also appeared on hundreds of T.V. and radio talk shows around the world.  She co-starred in, "Bigfoot," with John Carradine and Lindsay Crosby.  Her other film credits are: "Run Angel Run" (girlfriend to William Smith) and "They Only Kill Their Masters," starring James Garner.  She's also a lecturer, broadcaster and TV hostess of "The Joy Wilkerson Show" written, produced and directed by motion picture film-maker, Anthony Cardoza.  The half hour variety/talk show was syndicated in the U.S. and sold internationally.

The energetic Ms. Wilkerson dabbled in a variety of sports, including auto racing, in which the famous racing promoter gave her first try in an all women stock car race at Ascot Park Speedway, in Gardena, California.  Prior to her fender banging experience, she was a trophy girl at that track and fell in love with the speeding sprint and midget race cars on the half mile clay oval where she presented the winning hardware to famous speedsters, in her shocking pink micro-mini dresses.

Wilkerson raced against astronaut legend Pete Conrad in a Toyota-match race at Watkins Glen, New York.  She also competed in ABC-TV's "Wide World Of Sports" Demolition Derby against Cha'Cha' Muldowney, the drag racing queen and Ricky Nelson, Pernelli Jones and a host of other Indianapolis drivers.

Some of the cars she drove were TQ midgets, full sized midgets, sprint cars, dune buggies, SCCA-Formula Fords at Willow Springs, Stock Cars at 605 Speedway.  She drove at Flemington Speedway (N.J.) and paced the NASCAR hotshoes at Ontario Motor Speedway, in a Datsun 280-Z for the Winston-500 mile stock car race.  She also drove Gary Bettenhausen's sprint car in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Not claiming to be a champion race driver, she did it to help the future ladies in motor racing get publicity and notoriety.