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Janet Blair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the big band singer and actress. For the singer-songwriter, seeJanet Blair (singer-songwriter).

Janet Blair
Blair ca. 1940s
Born
Martha Janet Lafferty

(1921-04-23)April 23, 1921
Altoona, Pennsylvania,U.S.
DiedFebruary 19, 2007(2007-02-19)(aged 85)
Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1941–1991
Spouses
​
​
(m.1943;div.1950)​
Nick Mayo
​
​
(m.1953;div.1971)​
Children2

Janet Blair(bornMartha Janet Lafferty;April 23, 1921 – February 19, 2007) was an Americanbig-bandsinger who later became a popular film and television actress.

Early life

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Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April 23, 1921 inAltoona, Pennsylvania,the daughter of musically oriented parents.[1]Her father led the choir and sang solos in his church, and her mother played both piano and organ.[1]She had a brother, Fred Jr., and a sister, Louise.[2]

Film

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Blair inTonight and Every Night(1945)

Blair's showbusiness career began as a featured singer in theHal KempOrchestra. She began her film career in 1941 under contract toColumbia Pictures.[3]During World War II, she appeared as thepin-up girlin the March 1944 issue ofYank, the Army Weeklymagazine. She appeared in a series of successful films, although she may be best remembered for playingRosalind Russell's sister inMy Sister Eileen(1942)[4]andRita Hayworth's friend inTonight and Every Night(1945). In the 1947 filmThe Fabulous Dorseys,Blair returned to her musical roots, portraying a singer.[5]In the late 1940s, she had star billing in the crime dramaI Love Troubleand the comedyThe Fuller Brush Man(both 1948).

She was dropped by Columbia in 1947 and did not return to film for several years. "I gave up Hollywood and I gave up pictures" she explained. "All I got were princess parts. A girl gets tired of being a princess all of the time."[6]

In 1962, she appeared in a rare dramatic role in the British horror filmNight of the Eagleand played the wife ofTony Randallin the comedyBoys' Night OutwithJames GarnerandKim Novak.

Stage

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In 1950, Blair took the lead role of Nellie Forbush in the American touring production of the stage musicalSouth Pacific,with more than 1,200 performances in three years.[7]During the tour, she married her second husband, producer-director Nick Mayo, and they later had two children.

Blair also starred in theBroadwaycomedyA Girl Can Tellin 1953.[7]

Television

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In 1955, Blair starred as Venus in a live production ofOne Touch of VenusonNBC.[8]

Blair andHenry FondainThe Smith Family,1971

Blair appeared on television in various variety-show guest appearances[9]and served asDinah Shore's summer replacement on theDinah Shore Chevy Showin 1958.[10]She was a cast member during the 1956–1957 season onCaesar's Hour,a comedy-variety series starringSid Caesar.[11]

She appeared as a guest panelist on the June 9, 1957 episode ofWhat's My Line?.[12]

Blair costarred withHenry FondainThe Smith Family,[13]an ABC comedy-drama series. Her last performance on television was in a 1991 episode ofMurder, She Wrote.

Radio

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On radio, Blair costarred withGeorge Raftin "Broadway," a 1942 episode ofLux Radio TheatreonCBS.[14]

Recording

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Blair recorded an album of standards entitledFlame Out!for the Dico label,[15]which included ballads such as "Don't Explain" and "Then You've Never Been Blue".

Personal life

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Janis Carter,Blair andFranchot ToneinI Love Trouble(1948)

Blair married musical arranger and conductor[16]Louis Ferdinand Buschon July 12, 1943 inLake Arrowhead, California.They had met four years earlier when Blair sang for Hal Kemp's band and Busch was Kemp's pianist and arranger.[17]They divorced in March 1950.[18]Two years later, Blair wed television producer Nick Mayo, with whom she later had two children, Andrew and Amanda. The couple remained together for 19 years until their divorce in 1971.[19][20]

Blair was aRepublicanand campaigned forThomas Deweyin the1944 presidential election.[21]

On February 19, 2007, Blair died at the age of 85 at St. John's Health Center inSanta Monica, Californiafrom complications ofpneumonia.[22][7]She was cremated.[23]

Filmography

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Television

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Radio

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Discography

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  • Flame Out(1959, Dico)

References

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  1. ^ab"Road Wasn't Difficult For Janet Blair".Waco Tribune-Herald.Waco Tribune. December 7, 1952. p. 54.RetrievedApril 19,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  2. ^Coleman, William A. (October 14, 1956)."Caesar's third" wife "".Corpus Christi Caller-Times.The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 139.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  3. ^Ewald, William (September 25, 1956)."Janet Blair Irked at Fabray Comparison".The Times.The Times. p. 11.RetrievedSeptember 7,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  4. ^"Roz Russell, Janet Blair Stars of 'My Sister Eileen' at State".Kingsport Times.Kingsport Times. January 10, 1943. p. 8.RetrievedSeptember 7,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  5. ^Zylstra, Freida (May 18, 1947)."Janet Blair".Chicago Tribune. p. 11.RetrievedSeptember 10,2015.
  6. ^Thomas, Bob (February 21, 2007)."Janet Blair, 85".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedOctober 27,2023.
  7. ^abcSimonson, Robert (February 21, 2007)."Janet Blair, Stage, Film and Television Actress, Is Dead at 85".Playbill.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015.
  8. ^Hischak, Thomas (2008).The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television.Oxford University Press. p. 556.ISBN9780195335330.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015.
  9. ^Hopper, Hedda (September 3, 1950)."Adrift in South Pacific".The Salt Lake Tribune.p. 26.RetrievedSeptember 7,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  10. ^Bundy, June (June 30, 1958)."Chevy Show Potential Record Album Seller"(PDF).Billboard.p. 5.RetrievedSeptember 9,2015.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^Kleiner, Dick (July 4, 1957)."Janet Blair Won't Look Back On Her Year Of Disappointment".Pampa Daily News.p. 13.RetrievedSeptember 7,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  12. ^What's My Line? (January 13, 2014)."What's My Line? – Johnnie Ray; Ozzie Nelson [panel]; Janet Blair [panel] (Jun 9, 1957)".Archivedfrom the original on December 15, 2021 – via YouTube.
  13. ^"Actress Janet Blair, native of Altoona, dies at age 85".The Daily News.February 21, 2007. p. 2.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  14. ^"Drama Heads WHP Bill".Harrisburg Telegraph.Harrisburg Telegraph. November 19, 1942. p. 20.RetrievedApril 19,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  15. ^"Names on Profit Sharing Basis New Label's Aim"(PDF).Billboard. May 25, 1959. p. 18.RetrievedSeptember 9,2015.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^"Janet Blair Is Given Surprise Welcome Home".Altoona Tribune.Altoona Tribune. January 7, 1947. p. 1.RetrievedApril 19,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  17. ^"'My Sister Eileen' Wedded to Early Sweetheart ".The Salt Lake Tribune.The Salt Lake Tribune. July 13, 1943. p. 14.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  18. ^"Movie Divorce Crop Is Large".The Spokesman-Review.January 2, 1951. p. 2.RetrievedApril 22,2013.
  19. ^"Children Watch As Parents Are Wed".Kentucky New Era.October 19, 1963. p. 12.RetrievedApril 22,2013.
  20. ^Pearson, Howard."Laudable Ambition".The Deseret News.p. B8.RetrievedApril 22,2013.
  21. ^Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013).When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521199186– via Google Books.
  22. ^"Stage, Screen and TV Star Janet Blair Dies at 86 Read more about Stage, Screen and TV Star Janet Blair Dies at 86".broadwayworld. February 21, 2007.RetrievedApril 22,2013.
  23. ^Wilson, Scott (September 16, 2016).Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.McFarland.ISBN9781476625997– via Google Books.
  24. ^"Rehearsal".Harrisburg Telegraph.Harrisburg Telegraph. November 11, 1946. p. 19.RetrievedSeptember 15,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  25. ^"'Hollywood' Star ".Harrisburg Telegraph.Harrisburg Telegraph. December 21, 1946. p. 17.RetrievedSeptember 7,2015– viaNewspapers.Open access icon

Further reading

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  • Oderman, Stuart,Talking to the Piano Player 2.BearManor Media, 2009.ISBN1-59393-320-7.
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