Janis Paige
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.
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Acted in
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
2021
as Self
Journey to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission
2021
This Is Bob Hope...
2017
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's
2009
as Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009
as Self
Legends
2006
as Elvira Kent (archive footage) (uncredited)
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Satin and Silk
2003
as Self
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003
as Self
Family Law
1999
as Ann Fox
Caroline in the City
1995
as Loretta
That's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
Natural Causes
1994
as Mrs. MacCarthy
Shades of L.A.
1990
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
1990
as Self
Mission: Impossible
1988
as Katherine Foster
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
1988
as Self (archive footage)
Santa Barbara
1984
as Minx Lockridge
No Man's Land
1984
as Maggie Hodiak
Night Court
1984
as Eleanor Brandon
Baby Makes Five
1983
The Other Woman
1983
as Mrs. barnes
Gun Shy
1983
as Nettie McCoy
St. Elsewhere
1982
as Dee Mackaluso
Matt Houston
1982
as Lauren Calder
Capitol
1982
Love at the Top
1982
as Estelle
Bret Maverick
1981
as Mandy Packer
Lewis & Clark
1981
Flamingo Road
1981
Angel on My Shoulder
1980
as Dolly Blaine
Valentine Magic on Love Island
1980
as Madge
Trapper John, M.D.
1979
as Catherine Hackett
The Love Boat
1977
as Phyllis Morrison
The Betty White Show
1977
as Wilma
Eight Is Enough
1977
as Auntie V
Lanigan's Rabbi
1977
Charlie's Angels
1976
as Joan
All's Fair
1976
Alice
1976
Lanigan's Rabbi
1976
as Kate Lanigan
Cop on the Beat
1975
as Irene
The Turning Point of Jim Malloy
1975
as Lonnie
The Rockford Files
1974
as Miriam
Happy Days
1974
as Angela
Police Story
1973
Banacek
1972
as Lydia
Sarge
1971
as Marian Hart
Columbo
1971
as Goldie Williamson
All in the Family
1971
as Denise
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
1970
as Charlene Maguire
Roberta
1969
as Scharwenka
Hawaii Five-O
1968
as Minnie Cahoon
Mannix
1967
as Georgia Durian
Welcome to Hard Times
1967
as Adah
Burke's Law
1963
as Sharon McCauley
The Fugitive
1963
as Hallie Martin
The Caretakers
1963
as Marion
Follow the Boys
1963
as Liz
Bachelor in Paradise
1961
as Dolores Jynson
87th Precinct
1961
as Cheryl Anderson
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
1960
as Deborah Vaughn
The Bell Telephone Hour
1959
as Self
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Wagon Train
1957
as Nellie Jefferson
Silk Stockings
1957
as Peggy Dayton
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
It's Always Jan
1955
Climax!
1954
as Barbara
The George Gobel Show
1954
as Self
Studio 57
1954
General Electric Theater
1953
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Bebe Evans
Two Gals and a Guy
1951
as Della Oliver / Sylvia Latour
Mister Universe
1951
as Lorraine
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Iris
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
This Side of the Law
1950
as Nadine Taylor
Fugitive Lady
1950
as Barbara Clementi
The House Across the Street
1949
as Kit Williams
The Younger Brothers
1949
as Kate Shepherd
One Sunday Afternoon
1948
as Virginia Brush
Romance on the High Seas
1948
as Mrs. Elvira Kent
Wallflower
1948
as Joy Linnett
Winter Meeting
1948
as Peggy Markham
Always Together
1947
as Polly (uncredited)
So You Want to Be in Pictures
1947
as Herself (uncredited)
Cheyenne
1947
as Emily Carson
Love and Learn
1947
as Jackie
The Time, The Place and The Girl
1946
as Sue Jackson
Two Guys from Milwaukee
1946
as Polly
Of Human Bondage
1946
as Sally Athelny
Her Kind of Man
1946
as Georgia King
Hollywood Canteen
1944
as Studio Guide
I Won't Play
1944
as Kim Karol / Sally
Bathing Beauty
1944
as Janis