Jane Withers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jane Withers | |
|---|---|
 20th Century Fox |
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| Born | Jane Withers April 12, 1926 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Years active | 1929 - present |
| Spouse(s) | 1947-1954: William P. Moss Jr. 1955-1968: Kenneth Errair |
Jane Withers (born April 12, 1926 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American actress best known for being one of the most popular child film stars of the 1930s and early 1940s, as well as for her portrayal of "Josephine the Plumber" in a series of TV commercials for Comet cleanser in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Withers began her career as a child actress, first on local radio broadcasts in Atlanta, Georgia as "Dixie's Dainty Dewdrop". By the age of three, she was singing and imitating adult celebrities. In the early 1930s Withers and her family moved to Hollywood; she worked as an extra and a bit part player in several films in 1932 and 1933.
Rascals -- 1938
20th Century Fox
Withers's big break came when she landed a supporting role in the 1934 Shirley Temple film Bright Eyes. Her character, Joy Smythe, was mean and obnoxious, a perfect foil to Temple's sweet personality. She received positive notices for her work, and was awarded a long-term contract with Fox. Through the remainder of the 1930s she starred in several movies every year, including Ginger (1935), The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) and Little Miss Nobody (1936), usually cast as a wholesome, meddlesome young girl in films less sugary than Temple's vehicles. Moviegoers flocked to see her films, and Withers became one of the top 10 box-office stars in 1937 and 1938. Her popularity was such that Fox gave her "name" co-stars: the Ritz Brothers (in Pack Up Your Troubles) and Gene Autry (in Shooting High). Withers also took a flyer in screenwriting: she wrote the original story filmed as Small Town Deb, under the pseudonym "Jerrie Walters."
Withers kept working in the 1940s; she made 16 films for Fox, Columbia, and Republic Pictures. Her "sweet sixteen" birthday party was filmed by Paramount for the Hedda Hopper's Hollywood series. Withers received excellent notices for her dramatic performance in Lewis Milestone's The North Star.
In 1947, recently married and in her early twenties, Withers retired for several years from acting. In 1956, she had a supporting role in the film Giant.
In the 1960s, Withers gained fame again as "Josephine the Plumber," a character in a long-running and popular series of television commercials for Comet cleanser that lasted into the 1970s. She has continued to do voice-over work and occasionally guest stars on television shows.
[edit] Filmography
20th Century Fox
- Handle with Care (1932)
- Zoo in Budapest (1933)
- Tailspin Tommy (1934)
- It's a Gift (1934)
- Imitation of Life (1934)
- Bright Eyes (1934)
- The Good Fairy (1935)
- Ginger (1935)
- The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
- Redheads on Parade (1935)
- This Is the Life (1935)
- Paddy O'Day (1935)
- Can This Be Dixie? (1936)
- Gentle Julia (1936)
- Little Miss Nobody (1936)
- Pepper (1936)
- The Holy Terror (1937)
- Angel's Holiday (1937)
- Wild and Wooly (1937)
- 45 Fathers (1937)
- Checkers (1937)
- Rascals (1938)
- Keep Smiling (1938)
- Always in Trouble (1938)
- The Arizona Wildcat (1939)
- Hollywood Hobbies (1939) (short subject)
- Boy Friend (1939)
- Chicken Wagon Family (1939)
- Pack Up Your Troubles (1939)
- High School (1940)
- Shooting High (1940)
- Girl from Avenue A (1940)
- Youth Will Be Served (1940)
- Meet the Stars #1: Chinese Garden Festival (1941) (short subject)
- Small Town Deb (1941)
- Golden Hoofs (1941)
- Her First Beau (1941)
- Meet the Stars #6: Stars at Play (1941) (short subject)
- A Very Young Lady (1941)
- Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2 (1941) (short subject)
- Young America (1942)
- The Mad Martindales (1942)
- Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 4 (1942) (short subject)
- Johnny Doughboy (1942)
- The North Star (1943)
- My Best Gal (1944)
- Faces in the Fog (1944)
- Screen Snapshots: Fashions and Rodeo (1945) (short subject)
- Affairs of Geraldine (1946)
- Danger Street (1947)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Small Fry (1956) (short subject)
- Giant (1956)
- The Right Approach (1961)
- Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) (vocal "stand-in" for Mary Wickes after her death) (voice)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002) (voice) (direct-to-DVD)
- Boxes (2005) (short subject)
[edit] Trivia
While filming the movie Giant Jane developed a friendship with James Dean. In the DVD special features she tells the story that Dean had a favorite pink cowboy shirt he wore all the time. He never let it go the laundry for fear it would be lost like the other shirts he had. Withers convinced him to let her wash it for him. She did this often and when he left to go to the race he gave her his shirt to wash and have ready for him when he came back. He died that day in a famous car crash. Withers still keeps his shirt and the fond memories of him.
