Name
Janis Paige
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1922-09-16
Deathday
2024-06-02 (102 years old)
Place of Birth
Tacoma, Washington, USA
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Janis Paige (September 16, 1922 - June 2, 2024; born as Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington) was an American film, musical theatre and television actress. She began singing in public from the age of five in local amateur shows. She then moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school and then got a job as a singer at the Hollywood Canteen during World War II.
The Canteen, which was a studio-sponsored gathering spot for servicemen, is where Warner Bros. saw her potential and signed her up. She began her film career co-starring in secondary musicals, often paired with either Dennis Morgan or Jack Carson. She later was relegated to rugged adventures and dramas in which she was out of her element. Following her role in the forgettable Two Gals and a Guy released in 1951, she decided to leave the Hollywood scene.
She then took to the Broadway boards and scored a huge hit with the 1951 comedy-mystery play, Remains to Be Seen, co-starring Jackie Cooper. She also toured successfully as a cabaret singer, performing everywhere from New York City and Miami to Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Stardom came in 1954 with the role of "Babe" in the Broadway musical The Pajama Game. (Doris Day went on to play the role on film.) After a six-year hiatus, Paige returned to films in Silk Stockings (1957), which starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, plus the Doris Day comedy Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) followed by a role as a love-starved married neighbor in Bachelor in Paradise with Bob Hope (1961).
One of her rare dramatic roles was "Marion," an institutionalized hooker, in the 1963 drama, The Caretakers.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Janis Paige, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
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- 1949 The House Across the Street as Kit Williams
- 1957 Silk Stockings as Peggy Dayton
- 1948 Romance on the High Seas as Mrs. Elvira Kent
- 1948 Winter Meeting as Peggy Markham
- 1944 Bathing Beauty as Janis
- 1950 This Side of the Law as Nadine Taylor
- 1944 Hollywood Canteen as Studio Guide
- 1950 Fugitive Lady as Barbara Clementi
- 1946 Her Kind of Man as Georgia King
- 1960 Please Don't Eat the Daisies as Deborah Vaughn
- 1961 Bachelor in Paradise as Dolores Jynson
- 1963 Follow the Boys as Liz
- 1963 The Caretakers as Marion
- 2003 Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There as Self
- 1946 The Time, The Place and The Girl as Sue Jackson
- 1988 Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1949 The Younger Brothers as Kate Shepherd
- 1969 Roberta as Scharwenka
- 1944 I Won't Play as Kim Karol / Sally
- 1967 Welcome to Hard Times as Adah
- 1946 Of Human Bondage as Sally Athelny
- 1947 So You Want to Be in Pictures as Self (uncredited)
- 1948 Wallflower as Joy Linnett
- 1947 Cheyenne as Emily Carson
- 1948 One Sunday Afternoon as Virginia Brush
- 1947 Love and Learn as Jackie
- 1946 Two Guys from Milwaukee as Polly
- 1951 Two Gals and a Guy as Della Oliver / Sylvia Latour
- 1976 Lanigan's Rabbi as Kate Lanigan
- 1990 You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story as Self
- 1975 Cop on the Beat as Irene
- 1975 The Turning Point of Jim Malloy as Lonnie
- 1984 No Man's Land as Maggie Hodiak
- 2003 Cole Porter in Hollywood: Satin and Silk as Self
- 1982 Love at the Top as Estelle
- 1947 Always Together as Polly (uncredited)
- 1980 Angel on My Shoulder as Dolly Blaine
- 1951 Mister Universe as Lorraine
- 1994 Natural Causes as Mrs. MacCarthy
- 1980 Valentine Magic on Love Island as Madge
- 1994 That's Entertainment! III as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2017 This Is Bob Hope... as Self (archive footage)
- 2021 Journey to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission as Self
- 1983 The Other Woman as Mrs. barnes
- 2021 Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age as Self
- 2009 Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's as Self
- 2009 Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression as Self
- 1984 We Think the World Is Round as Nina (voice)
- 1976 Bob Hope's World of Comedy as Self (archive footage)
- 1976 Alice ( 1 episode ) as Paco
- 1963 Burke's Law ( 1 episode ) as Sharon McCauley
- 1950 The Colgate Comedy Hour ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1968 Hawaii Five-O ( 1 episode ) as Minnie Cahoon
- 1971 All in the Family ( 2 episodes ) as Denise
- 1981 Flamingo Road ( 1 episode )
- 1976 Charlie's Angels ( 1 episode ) as Joan
- 1974 Happy Days ( 1 episode ) as Angela
- 1976 All's Fair ( 2 episodes )
- 1948 The Ed Sullivan Show ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1977 Eight Is Enough ( 5 episodes ) as Auntie V
- 1961 87th Precinct ( 1 episode ) as Cheryl Anderson
- 1958 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse ( 1 episode )
- 1977 Lanigan's Rabbi ( 2 episodes ) as Kate Lanigan
- 1963 The Fugitive ( 1 episode ) as Hallie Martin
- 1973 Police Story ( 1 episode )
- 1999 Family Law ( 1 episode ) as Ann Fox
- 1982 Capitol ( 260 episodes )
- 1950 Lux Video Theatre ( 1 episode ) as Iris
- 1951 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars ( 1 episode ) as Bebe Evans
- 1982 Matt Houston ( 1 episode ) as Lauren Calder
- 1954 Climax! ( 1 episode ) as Barbara
- 1963 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1956 The Dinah Shore Chevy Show ( 5 episodes ) as Self
- 1981 Lewis & Clark ( 1 episode )
- 1990 Shades of L.A. ( 1 episode )
- 1955 It's Always Jan ( 9 episodes )
- 1983 Gun Shy ( 6 episodes ) as Nettie McCoy
- 1983 Baby Makes Five ( 5 episodes )
- 1971 Columbo ( 1 episode ) as Goldie Williamson
- 1950 The Bob Hope Show ( 13 episodes ) as Self
- 1951 The Red Skelton Show ( 1 episode ) as School Teacher
- 1984 Night Court ( 1 episode ) as Eleanor Brandon
- 1962 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1950 The Bob Hope Show ( 1 episode ) as Madame Nunez
- 1981 Bret Maverick ( 2 episodes ) as Mandy Packer
- 1957 Wagon Train ( 1 episode ) as Nellie Jefferson
- 1977 The Betty White Show ( 1 episode ) as Wilma
- 1974 The Rockford Files ( 1 episode ) as Miriam
- 1951 The Red Skelton Show ( 1 episode ) as Janis Paige
- 1984 Santa Barbara ( 761 episodes ) as Minx Lockridge
- 1967 Mannix ( 1 episode ) as Georgia Durian
- 1977 The Love Boat ( 1 episode ) as Phyllis Morrison
- 2006 Legends ( 1 episode ) as Elvira Kent (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1979 Trapper John, M.D. ( 19 episodes ) as Catherine Hackett
- 1982 St. Elsewhere ( 1 episode ) as Dee Mackaluso
- 1988 Mission: Impossible ( 1 episode ) as Katherine Foster
- 1971 Sarge ( 1 episode ) as Marian Hart
- 1972 Banacek ( 1 episode ) as Lydia
- 1970 The Mary Tyler Moore Show ( 1 episode ) as Charlene Maguire
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1959 The Bell Telephone Hour ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1954 Studio 57 ( 1 episode )
- 1954 The George Gobel Show ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1951 The Red Skelton Show ( 1 episode ) as Mrs. Cavendish
- 1953 General Electric Theater ( 1 episode )
- 1951 The Red Skelton Show ( 1 episode ) as Hatta Mari
- 1995 Caroline in the City ( 1 episode ) as Loretta
- 1983 Trauma Center ( 1 episode )
- 1973 Police Story ( 1 episode ) as Irene
- 1956 Tony Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Presenter
- 1975 Medical Story ( 1 episode ) as Nurse
- 1951 The Ezio Pinza Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1978 Fantasy Island ( 1 episode ) as Charlotte
