'Cool Hand Luke' Actress Joy Harmon Dead at 87

Joy Harmon -- the blonde actress known for her brief but iconic car wash scene in the classic 1960s film "Cool Hand Luke" -- has died, TMZ has learned.

A family member tells TMZ ... Joy passed away at her Los Angeles-area home Tuesday surrounded by family, after getting sick with pneumonia several weeks earlier. We're told she fought until the end and fully expected to recover and get back to work at her beloved Burbank bakery, Aunt Joy's Cakes.

Joy was working at Aunt Joy's until the very end ... we're told she was working the day before she went to the hospital to receive medical care.

According to her family member, she spent 1 to 2 weeks in the hospital, followed by a several-week stint at a rehabilitation center, and then returned home to spend her final days on hospice care and with her loved ones.

Her role as Lucille in the famous car-wash scene was an image that stuck in cinema culture for decades to come. But, she had been honing her craft long before -- she kicked off her career as a child model and pageant queen, becoming a finalist in the Miss Connecticut pageant.

She had several on and off-Broadway stints before breaking into Hollywood as a contestant on the "You Bet Your Life" quiz show. From there, she became a regular on the "Tell It To Groucho" comedy show.

She appeared in classic films such as "Village of the Giants," "One Way Wahine," "Under the Yum Yum Tree" and "Angel in My Pocket" and landed several roles on the small screen, appearing in "Batman," "The Monkeys," "Bewitched," and more.

She stepped away from Hollywood to focus on raising her family -- she had 3 children, Jason, Julie and Jamie -- with her ex-husband, film editor Jeff Gourson. The pair were married between 1968 and 2001. She had 9 grandchildren, some of whom she's seen smiling with in the photo above.

She founded her bakery in 2003 and it quickly became a local favorite. We're told fans always knew to find her there, and she would happily hand out autographs when asked.

Her family tells TMZ Joy was a positive thinker full of life and vibrancy, and certainly had no problem spreading joy throughout her life.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with her medical costs.

Joy was 87 years old.