Lois January
Lois January | |
---|---|
Lois January in The Pace That Kills (1935) | |
Born |
McAllen, Texas, U.S. | October 5, 1913
Died |
August 7, 2006 92) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Cause of death | Alzheimer's disease |
Occupation | Film, television actress |
Years active | 1932-1987 |
Lois January (October 5, 1913 – August 7, 2006) was an American actress who performed small roles in several B-movies during the 1930s.[1][2][3]
Early life
Born in McAllen, Texas as Laura Lois January, her first credited role was in 1933, in the film UM-PA. Her most famous role, however, although she never achieved name recognition, is probably as the Emerald City manicurist in The Wizard of Oz who sings to Dorothy that "we can make a dimpled smile out of a frown."
Career
January had many roles during her Hollywood career. During the 1930s she played in numerous westerns as the heroine, usually opposite Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Steele, Tim McCoy and Bob Baker, among others. In 1935 she starred opposite Reb Russell in Arizona Badman, and in 1936 she starred with Brown in Rogue of the Range, and alongside Tim McCoy in Border Caballero. While under contract with Universal Pictures she continued to play heroine roles in westerns, and in 1937 she starred opposite Bob Baker in Courage of the West. The reissuing of the 1935 exploitation film The Pace That Kills (under the title Cocaine Fiends) would eventually lend January even more exposure, however limited.
By the mid-1940s, her starring roles had waned but she continued to act in non-starring parts. In 1942 she was the "poster girl" for Chesterfield cigarettes. From 1960 through 1987 she played numerous small roles on television, to include roles on My Three Sons and Marcus Welby, M.D.. Her last acting role was in 1987, on the television movie Double Agent. During the 1980s she attended several western film festivals.
Death
She died in Los Angeles, California of Alzheimer's disease on August 7, 2006, aged 92.
References
- ↑ "Cocaine Fiends". amazon.com. Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ↑ "Lois January"". barnesandnoble.com. Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ↑ Shilling, Michael G. Fitzgerald and Boyd Magers ; with forewords by Kathryn Adams, Mala Powers and Marion (2006). Ladies of the western : interviews with fifty-one more actresses from the silent era to the television westerns of the 1950s and 1960s. McFarland. p. 96. ISBN 9780786426560.
External links
- Lois January at the Internet Movie Database
- Lois January at Find a Grave
- Lois January at AllMovie
- B-western heroines, Lois January