Joyce Collins Bulifant^[1] (born December 16, 1937)^[1] is an American actress and author. In addition to recurring roles on television, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Marie Slaughter, Bulifant is recognized for film roles in The Happiest Millionaire and Airplane! and as a frequent panelist on game shows, including Chain Reaction, Match Game, and Password Plus.

Bulifant was born in Newport News, Virginia. She attended Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1956 in the same class as her first husband, James MacArthur, son of Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur.^[1] She then studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.^[2]

Bulifant's Broadway credits include Tall Story (1958) and The Paisley Convertible (1966).^[3][4]

She appeared in Glad Tidings;^[5] Auntie Mame;^[6] Gentlemen, The Queens!; and Under the Yum-Yum Tree.^[7]

She has written and performed autobiographical shows, Life Upon the Wicked Stage^[8] and Remembering Helen Hayes with Love, about her former mother-in-law, Helen Hayes, as well as Lillian Gish.^[9]

Bulifant's most popular film roles were as Rosemary in the Disney live-action feature The Happiest Millionaire, in which she sang "Bye-Yum Pum Pum," and in the 1980 comedy Airplane!^[18]

She has twice been directed by her son, John Asher, in Diamonds and Tooken, and appeared in a comedic short, The Haircut, opposite John Cassavetes.^[19]

Bulifant received a Theatre World Award for 1961–1962 for her performance in Whisper to Me.^[20]

In 2014, she and her husband Roger Perry were honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California.^[21]

Bulifant has been married five times:

• Her first husband was actor James MacArthur. They married on November 2, 1958,^[22] had two children together, Mary MacArthur and Charles MacArthur,^[23] and divorced in 1967.^{[citation needed]}
• Her second husband was Days of Our Lives star Edward Mallory. They married on September 19, 1969, and had one child, John Mallory Asher. They divorced in 1974.^{[citation needed]}
• Her third husband was TV director William Asher. He adopted her son John, giving him the last name of Asher. She and Asher married August 28, 1976, and divorced in 1993.^{[citation needed]}
• Her fourth marriage was to Glade Bruce Hansen; they married in 2000 and divorced the next year.^{[citation needed]}
• Her fifth husband was actor Roger Perry. They married in 2002 after he divorced his wife of many years, Jo Anne Worley, and remained wed until Perry's death on July 12, 2018.^[24]

Bulifant has a grandson, Evan Joseph Asher, from her son John's marriage to Jenny McCarthy.^{[citation needed]}

Bulifant discovered she had dyslexia in her 40s^[25] and has served as a longtime advocate for dyslexia research, including writing two musicals on the subject, Gifts of Greatness and Different Heroes, Different Dreams. Recipients of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, which Bulifant founded to recognize dyslexics who've made a positive contribution to society, include Stephen J. Cannell and Whoopi Goldberg.^[26] Bulifant herself is a recipient of the 2015 Broken Glass Award from The Dyslexia Foundation.^[27]

She has for many years been actively involved with the child abuse prevention non-profit Childhelp, including serving as a Celebrity Ambassador and as a vice-president on the National Board of Directors.^[28][29]

She also advocates for autism research.^[9]

Her memoir, My Four Hollywood Husbands, details the alcoholism of four of her spouses and her recovery from codependent relationships.^[18]