Born in 1914, Mary Elizabeth Greear showed such promise as a young singer that her family moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles so she could study voice with Adolfo de la Huerta. Her teacher was a former provisional president of Mexico and was rumored to be the only instructor in the world that used the system of Porpora. Greear dropped Mary Elizabeth and started using the name Geraine before she abandoned her musical career and picked up a role in a silent film called the Gaucho starring Dougless Fairbanks and Lupe Vélev. Between 1930 and 1935 she appeared in at least 15 uncredited film roles. In 1936 Greear landed her first western starring role with Tom Tyler in Ridin’. She followed up Feud of the West alongside Hoot Gibson, Glory Trail with Tom Keene, and Men of the Plains with Rex Bell.Somewhere in there Greear changed her name to Joan Barclay and she spent the next three years playing starring and supporting parts in no less than thirty-five B-movies and serial. She continued to work as Joan Braclay through the war years. In 1944 she appeared in six uncredited roles. In 1945 She made her final appearance on film in a Charlie Chan mystery called The Shanghai Cobra.
