Jane Withers is an American actress and former children’s radio show host. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s. Her films ranking in the top ten list for box-office gross in 1937 and 1938. She made 38 films before retiring at age 21 in 1947. She returned to film and television as a character actor in the 1950s.
About Jane Withers in brief
Jane Withers is an American actress and former children’s radio show host. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s. Her films ranking in the top ten list for box-office gross in 1937 and 1938. She made 38 films before retiring at age 21 in 1947. She returned to film and television as a character actor in the 1950s. From 1963 to 1974, she gained new popularity with her portrayal of the character Josephine the Plumber in a series of television commercials for Comet cleanser. She has been interviewed in numerous documentary retrospectives of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is also known for her philanthropy and her extensive doll collection. She was born on April 12, 1926, in Atlanta, Georgia, the only child of Walter Edward WitherS and Lavinia Ruth Wither’s. Her mother determined before Jane was born that she would have one daughter who would go into show business, and chose the name Jane so that \”even with a long last name like Witherings, it would fit on a marquee\”. When Jane was two, Ruth enrolled her in a tap dancing school, and also taught her to sing. At age 3 ½ she had her own radio show called Dixie’s Dainty Dewdrop, where she also interviewed celebrities who were visiting Atlanta. After two years of success in radio, Ruth took Jane to Hollywood before her sixth birthday in 1932 to explore opportunities in film.
She got her first film role as an extra when their neighbor invited her to come along for her daughter’s interview for Handle with Care. She subsequently appeared in many films as an uncredited extra; occasionally she had a line of dialogue. In 1934 she landed a supporting role in a pantomime hopscotch scene with W. C. Fields. In the 1990s and 2000s, she did voice work for Disney animated films. She was cast on Aunt Sally’s Kiddie Revue, a Saturday-morning children’s program broadcast on WGST radio in Atlanta. She sang, danced, and did impersonations of notable film stars including W.C. Fields, ZaSu Pitts, Maurice Chevalier, Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, and Greta Garbo. She also performed on children’s shows on KFWB radio, did cartoon voice-overs, and also modeled. Jane’s big break came after two years in 1934 when she landed her breakthrough role as the spoiled, obnoxious Joy Smythe opposite Shirley Temple’s angelic orphan Shirley Blake in the 1934 film Bright Eyes. The family would invite six busloads of orphan children to come to their home after church and Sunday school for lunch and afternoon entertainment. Jane was the first one to notice that she got a special quality and got over her mother to compliment her on Jane’s talent. She stood out from the other girls at auditions because of her appearance: she preferred tailored clothes to frilly dresses.
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