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Joel Thomas Ashley was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Alsie Ashley and Beulah Mariah Rodgers, daughter of Joel Thomas Rodgers and Laura Mariah Jones. He attended Georgia Military Academy and Peekskill Military Academy in New York before graduating from Black Foxe Military Academy in Los Angeles, California, in 1935 at the age of 16. He enrolled at the University of Southern California and later at the American Academy of Dramatic Art but left without graduating after landing a role in a Broadway play at 17.
He went on to perform in eight Broadway productions, including twice portraying Abraham Lincoln in "Prologue to Glory" and "War President." His stage credits also include "Sun Field" and "Catherine Was Great" alongside Mae West, as well as touring plays with Kay Francis and Elisabeth Bergner, plus numerous summer stock performances.
In the 1950s, Ashley began working in live television dramas in New York, appearing on anthology series such as "Studio One," and in TV plays sponsored by Hallmark, Kraft, Philco, Lux, and U.S. Rubber. His smooth voice made him a commercial announcer for Lucky Strike cigarettes, and he took roles in radio soap operas and dramas like "The Shadow," as well as in live TV drama series including "Captain Video."
Ashley relocated to Hollywood to act in "The Ten Commandments" as a slave driver and decided to remain there. His film credits include "Tension at Table Rock," "Wild in the Streets," "Ghost Town," "Broken Star," and "The Great Locomotive Chase," some of which continue to air on cable television. On television, he appeared in several episodes of "Gunsmoke"—one of which earned an Emmy—and often played villains in shows such as "Have Gun – Will Travel," "Death Valley Days," "Wagon Train," "The Cisco Kid," and "The Lone Ranger."
As chairman of the Theatre Committee of the Masquers Club for many years, Ashley directed and acted in several productions, including "Othello" and "Inherit the Wind." During World War II, he enlisted in the Marines in 1941 and was wounded at Guadalcanal.
In 1942, he married Margalo Francis Wilson (1920–1960), daughter of Francis Wilson, the founding president of Actors' Equity, and Edna Bruns, Wilson's former leading lady. They had two daughters. In 1961, he married Erna Maria Rade, originally from Leipzig, Germany, who passed away in 1984. His longtime companion, Connie Egan, died in 1998.
He is survived by his daughter Margalo Ashley-Farrand, J.D., and her children Marc Alexander Bennett and Aliza Margalo Bennett, as well as his stepsons Michael and Robert Bennett. He is also survived by the children of his late daughter Laurel Mariah Ashley Petersen, Ph.D.—Joel C. Petersen, Ryan Petersen, Ashley Sarah Petersen—and her stepsons Matthew and Timothy Petersen.
A memorial service was held on May 13, 2000, at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Hollywood, California. The family requests that donations be made to The Actors Fund of America.
