Janis Paige
Encyclopedia
Janis Paige is an American film, musical theatre
and television actress. Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington
, 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
.
, and as one of a succession of actresses playing the title role in the musical Mame. She also appeared in touring productions of musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun
, Applause
, Ballroom
, Gypsy: A Musical Fable
, and Guys and Dolls.
situation comedy
, It's Always Jan
, co-starring Merry Anders
. The 26-week program preceded the first season of Gunsmoke
on the Saturday evening schedule. The plot, set in New York City
, centered around Paige as Jan Stewart, a widowed mother, and her two female roommates played by Anders and Patricia Bright.
She also appeared on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
, Trapper John, M.D.
, All in the Family
, Columbo and Caroline in the City
. In the 1980s and 1990s, she was seen on soap opera
s such as General Hospital
, Capitol
, and Santa Barbara
. In 1982 she appeared on St. Elsewhere
as a female flasher
who stalked the hallways of the hospital to "cheer up" the male patients. Although her character said she was "celebrating her 50th birthday," Ms. Paige was actually 60 at the time of filming.
She has no children.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and television actress. Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, she began singing in public from the age of five in local amateur shows. She then moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
after graduating from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and then got a job as a singer at the Hollywood Canteen
Hollywood Canteen
The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California between October 3, 1942 and November 22, 1945 as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen, usually on their way overseas...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Canteen, which was a studio-sponsored gathering spot for servicemen, is where Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
saw her potential and signed her up. She began her film career co-starring in secondary musicals, often paired with either Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan was an American actor-singer. Born as Earl Stanley Morner, he used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting his professional name....
or Jack Carson
Jack Carson
John Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
. 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
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
boards and scored a huge hit with the 1951 comedy-mystery play, Remains to Be Seen, co-starring Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...
. She also toured successfully as a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singer, performing everywhere from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Miami to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Stardom came in 1954 with the role of "Babe" in the Broadway musical The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
. (Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
went on to play the role on film.) After a six-year hiatus, Paige returned to films in Silk Stockings
Silk Stockings (film)
Silk Stockings is a 1957 MGM musical film remake of Ninotchka. It was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse...
(1957), which starred Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse was an American actress and dancer.After recovering from polio as a child, and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s...
, plus the Doris Day comedy Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (film)
Please Don't Eat the Daisies is a comedy film starring Doris Day and David Niven, made by Euterpe Inc., and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(1960) followed by a role as a love-starved married neighbor in Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise is a 1961 Metrocolor romantic comedy film starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner. It was directed by Jack Arnold, and written by Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter, based on story by Vera Caspary....
with Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
(1961).
One of her rare dramatic roles was "Marion," an institutionalized hooker, in the 1963 drama, The Caretakers
The Caretakers
The Caretakers is a 1963 United Artists film drama starring Joan Crawford, Robert Stack, Polly Bergen and Janis Paige in a story about a mental hospital....
.
Musical theatre
Paige returned to Broadway in 1963 in the short-lived Here's LoveHere's Love
Here's Love is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson.Based on the classic film Miracle on 34th Street, it tells the tale of a skeptical little girl who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. When the real Kris Kringle inadvertently is hired to represent jolly St...
, and as one of a succession of actresses playing the title role in the musical Mame. She also appeared in touring productions of musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
, Applause
Applause (musical)
Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Lauren Bacall won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical....
, Ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
, Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...
, and Guys and Dolls.
Television
In the 1955-1956 television season, Paige starred in her own CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, It's Always Jan
It's Always Jan
It's Always Jan is an American situation comedy starring Janis Paige, which aired on CBS in the 1955-1956 season. It was the lead-in program at 9:30 p.m...
, co-starring Merry Anders
Merry Anders
Merry Anders is an American actress who has appeared in a number of television programs and films since the 1950s. In 1954, she succeeded Ann Todd as Stuart Erwin's daughter in the final season of his TV series, The Stu Erwin Show.In the 1955-1956 season, she joined Janis Paige in the 26-week CBS...
. The 26-week program preceded the first season of Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
on the Saturday evening schedule. The plot, set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, centered around Paige as Jan Stewart, a widowed mother, and her two female roommates played by Anders and Patricia Bright.
She also appeared on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom is a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC from October 3, 1957 to June 23, 1960, starring the young singer Pat Boone and a host of top-name guest stars. The program was of course sponsored by Chevrolet...
, Trapper John, M.D.
Trapper John, M.D.
Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....
, All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, Columbo and Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...
. In the 1980s and 1990s, she was seen on soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s such as General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, Capitol
Capitol (TV series)
Capitol is an American soap opera which aired on CBS from March 29, 1982 to March 20, 1987 for 1,270 episodes. As its name suggests, the storyline usually revolved around the political intrigues of people whose lives intertwined in Washington D.C....
, and Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
. In 1982 she appeared on St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
as a female flasher
Flasher
Flasher has multiple meanings:*A person who displays his or her body in a form of indecent exposure *Another name for a vehicle's turn signal, see automotive lighting#Turn signals...
who stalked the hallways of the hospital to "cheer up" the male patients. Although her character said she was "celebrating her 50th birthday," Ms. Paige was actually 60 at the time of filming.
Marriages
Paige has been married to:- Frank Louis Martinelli Jr, restaurateur; married 1947, divorced 1950
- Arthur Stander, television writer and creator of It's Always Jan; married 1956, divorced 1957
- Ray GilbertRay GilbertRay Gilbert was a lyricist.Gilbert is best remembered for the lyrics to the Oscar winning song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the film Song of the South, which he wrote with Allie Wrubel in 1947.He married, in 1962, actress Janis Paige.Daughter, actress and singer Joanne Gilbert, July...
, composer and music publisher; married 1962, died 1976; he wrote the classic song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-DahZip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is a song from the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie Song of the South, sung by James Baskett. With music by Allie Wrubel and lyrics by Ray Gilbert, "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song...
".
She has no children.
Selected films
- Bathing BeautyBathing BeautyBathing Beauty is a 1944 musical starring Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone and Esther Williams and directed by George Sidney.Although this was not William's screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The film was initially to be titled "Mr. Co-Ed" with Red Skelton having top billing...
(1944) - Hollywood CanteenHollywood Canteen (1944 film)Hollywood Canteen is a 1944 Warner Bros. film starring Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, and Dane Clark. The film was written and directed by Delmer Daves, and is notable for featuring many stars in cameo roles...
(1944) - Her Kind of Man (1946)
- Of Human BondageOf Human Bondage (1946 film)Of Human Bondage is a 1946 American drama filmdirected by Edmund Goulding. The second screen adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's 1915 novel, the Warner Bros. release was written by Catherine Turney...
(1946) - Two Guys from MilwaukeeTwo Guys from MilwaukeeTwo Guys from Milwaukee is a 1946 comedy film about a Balkan prince who wants to see for himself what America is really like. So he slips away from his entourage in New York and pretends to be an average guy. The comedy movie stars Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, and Jack Carson.Morgan, Carson,...
(1946) - The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946)
- Always Together (1947)
- Winter MeetingWinter MeetingWinter Meeting is a 1948 American drama film directed by Bretaigne Windust. The screenplay by Catherine Turney is based on the novel of the same title by Grace Zaring Stone, writing under the pseudonym Ethel Vance.-Synopsis:...
(1948) - Wallflower (1948)
- Romance on the High SeasRomance on the High SeasRomance on the High Seas is a 1948 Technicolor musical romantic comedy film starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and Doris Day in her film debut....
(1948) - One Sunday Afternoon (1948)
- Fugitive Lady (1949)
- The Younger Brothers (1949)
- The House Across the Street (1949)
- This Side of the Law (1950)
- Mr. Universe (1951)
- Two Gals and a Guy (1951)
- Silk StockingsSilk Stockings (film)Silk Stockings is a 1957 MGM musical film remake of Ninotchka. It was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse...
(1957) - Please Don't Eat the DaisiesPlease Don't Eat the Daisies (film)Please Don't Eat the Daisies is a comedy film starring Doris Day and David Niven, made by Euterpe Inc., and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(1960) - Bachelor in ParadiseBachelor in ParadiseBachelor in Paradise is a 1961 Metrocolor romantic comedy film starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner. It was directed by Jack Arnold, and written by Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter, based on story by Vera Caspary....
(1961) - Follow the BoysFollow the Boys (1963 film)Follow the Boys is a 1963 comedy film and also the theme song which was a Top 20 hit for Connie Francis.-The film:Directed by Richard Thorpe and shot on location on the French and Italian Riviera, Follow the Boys was MGM's second film vehicle for its label's top recording artist Connie Francis...
(1963) - The CaretakersThe CaretakersThe Caretakers is a 1963 United Artists film drama starring Joan Crawford, Robert Stack, Polly Bergen and Janis Paige in a story about a mental hospital....
(1963) - Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
Documentary/short subjects
- Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were ThereBroadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were ThereBroadway: The Golden Age is a 2004 documentary by Rick McKay, telling the story of the "golden age" of Broadway by the oral history of the legendary actors of the 40s and 50s, incorporating rare lost footage of actual performances and never-before-seen personal home movies and photos.-The Cast:The...
(2003 documentary) - I Won't PlayI Won't PlayI Won't Play is a 1944 short drama film directed by Crane Wilbur. It won an Academy Award in 1945 for Best Short Subject .-Cast:* Dane Clark - Joe Fingers* Janis Paige - Kim Karol / Sally* Warren Douglas - Rusty aka 'Handsome'...
(1944) - So You Want to Be in PicturesJoe McDoakesJoe McDoakes is the protagonist of a series of 63 black and white live action comedy one reel short subjects released between 1942 and 1956. The Joe McDoakes shorts are also known as the Behind the Eight Ball series or the So You Want... series...
(1947) - So You Want to Be an ActorJoe McDoakesJoe McDoakes is the protagonist of a series of 63 black and white live action comedy one reel short subjects released between 1942 and 1956. The Joe McDoakes shorts are also known as the Behind the Eight Ball series or the So You Want... series...
(1949)
Selected television work
- It's Always Jan (1955–1956)
- The Secret World of Eddie Hodges (1960)
- The Fugitive: Ballad for a GhostThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
(1964) - Columbo: Blueprint for Murder (1972)
- All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
(1976 and 1978) - Eight Is EnoughEight Is EnoughEight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
(1977–1980) Recurring role as Aunt Vivian ('Auntie V') - Charlie's AngelsCharlie's AngelsCharlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
(1978) - Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
The case Against Philip Christie (1978) - Happy DaysHappy DaysHappy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
(1981) - Bret MaverickBret MaverickBret Maverick is an American Western series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series Maverick: a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the Old West from riverboat to saloon...
(1981) (pilot for series) - Baby Makes FiveBaby Makes FiveBaby Makes Five is an American comedy television series starring Peter Scolari. The series premiered April 1, 1983 on ABC.-Cast:*Peter Scolari as the father Eddie Riddle*Louise Williams as the mother Jennie Riddle*Andre Gower as the son Michael Riddle...
(1983) - Night CourtNight CourtNight Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
(1984) - Trapper John, M.D.Trapper John, M.D.Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....
(cast member from 1985–1986) - CapitolCapitol (TV series)Capitol is an American soap opera which aired on CBS from March 29, 1982 to March 20, 1987 for 1,270 episodes. As its name suggests, the storyline usually revolved around the political intrigues of people whose lives intertwined in Washington D.C....
(cast member in 1987) - General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
(cast member in 1989) - Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara (TV series)Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
(cast member from 1990–1993)