Lois January

Lois January

1912-10-05 – 2006-08-07 (age 93) McAllen, Texas, USA
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Biography

Lois January was an American actress who performed small roles in several B-movies during the 1930s.

Lois also had a secondary part in the Wizard Of Oz, towards the end of the movie, holding a Siamese cat in her arms. Toto jumps out of the basket of the hot air balloon that was supposed to take him, Dorothy and the Wizard away from the Land of Oz.

January's first credited role was in 1933, in the film UM-PA. Her most famous role, however, 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". Although the character was unnamed, many fans believe it to be an incarnation of novel character Jellia Jamb.

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.

January's Broadway credits include High Kickers (1941) and Yokel Boy (1939).

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.

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Known For

Bar-Z Bad Men
Bar-Z Bad Men

1937

as Beth Harvey

Lightnin' Crandall
Lightnin' Crandall

1937

as Sheila Shannon

One Rainy Afternoon
One Rainy Afternoon

1936

as Mr. Perelin's Secretary

Double Agent
Double Agent

1987

as Dowager

Uncertain Lady
Uncertain Lady

1934

as Maid (uncredited)

The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Moonlight on the Range
Moonlight on the Range

1937

as Wanda Brooks

The Pace That Kills
The Pace That Kills

1935

as Jane Bradford

By Candlelight
By Candlelight

1933

as Ann

Let’s Be Ritzy
Let’s Be Ritzy

1934

as Stenographer

Rogue of the Range
Rogue of the Range

1936

as Stella Lamb

Border Caballero
Border Caballero

1936

as Goldie Harris

The Richard Pryor Special?
The Richard Pryor Special?

1977

as Older Woman

Three Cheers for the Girls
Three Cheers for the Girls

1943

as Brunette in Dressing Room (uncredited)

Let's Talk It Over
Let's Talk It Over

1934

as Alice

Courage of the West
Courage of the West

1937

as Beth Andrews

Lightnin' Bill Carson
Lightnin' Bill Carson

1936

as Dolores Costello

Society Fever
Society Fever

1935

as Julie Prouty