Janis Paige, the Hollywood and Broadway star who danced with Fred Astaire and toured with Bob Hope, passed away at the age of 101. Paige died of natural causes at her Los Angeles home on Sunday, June 2nd. She had continued to perform into her 90s, even adding her voice to the #MeToo movement in 2018. Paige began her career singing for servicemen during World War II and went on to star in numerous films, including “Hollywood Canteen” and “It Should Happen to You.” She also graced the Broadway stage, appearing in “Mister Roberts” and “The Pajama Game.” MGM hired her after she sang an operatic aria for servicemen at the Hollywood Canteen. She spoke only two lines in her first film, which starred Esther Williams and Red Skelton, but Warner Bros. quickly signed her and cast her in a dramatic segment of the all-star movie “Thank Your Lucky Stars.” Her contract started at $150 a week, which was more than her mother had made in a month during the Great Depression. Paige’s salary rose to $1,000 weekly as the studio kept her busy in lightweight films such as “Romance on the High Seas,” “Two Guys from Milwaukee,” “The Time, the Place and the Girl,” and “Tea for Two,” which marked Doris Day’s film debut. Meanwhile, she had changed her name from Donna May Tjaden, adopting her grandfather’s name of Paige. She took her first name from Elsie Janis, famed for entertaining troops in World War I. Her contract with Warner Bros. expired in 1949, and she moved to Broadway, starring in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “The Pajama Game.” MGM producer Arthur Freed saw her nightclub act at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and offered her a part opposite Astaire in “Silk Stockings,” also co-starring Cyd Charisse. Paige replaced Angela Lansbury in the New York production of “Mame” in 1968 on Broadway and toured with the show in 1969. She also toured in “Gypsy,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Born Yesterday,” and “The Desk Set.” Her last time on Broadway was in 1984’s “Alone Together.” Paige sang in clubs with Sammy Davis Jr., Alan King, Dinah Shore, and Perry Como. In May 2003, Paige resumed entertaining after a long absence. She opened a show she called “The Third Act” at San Francisco’s Plush Room. In 2018, she added her voice to the #MeToo movement, alleging an assault when she was 22 by the late department-store heir Alfred Bloomingdale. In 2020, her autobiography, “Reading Between the Lines: A Memoir,” was published, sharing her experiences with Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, David Niven, Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, and Lucille Ball. Paige had two brief marriages, to San Francisco restaurateur Frank Martinelli and to writer-producer Arthur Stander. In 1962, she married songwriter Ray Gilbert, who won an Oscar for the song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Da” from Disney’s “Song of the South.” He died in 1976, and Paige assumed management of his music company.
Hollywood and Broadway Icon Janis Paige, Dance Partner to Fred Astaire, Dies at 101
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