The esteemed actress and dancer Janis Paige has passed away at age 101, as confirmed by her longtime friend Stuart Lampert.
Known for her flaming red hair and roles in Hollywood films and Broadway musicals, Paige had a career spanning decades. She performed with stars like Fred Astaire and Bob Hope, and continued her career into her 90s.
Paige passed away on June 2, due to natural causes, at her home in Los Angeles, California.
In her illustrious career, Paige starred in Broadway’s mystery-comedy “Remains to be Seen” alongside Jackie Cooper, and the major hit musical “The Pajama Game” with John Raitt. She also had roles in films such as “Bachelor in Paradise,” a comedy featuring Bob Hope, the Doris Day comedy “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies,” and “Follow the Boys.”
In 2018, Paige joined the #MeToo movement, disclosing an assault by the late department-store heir Alfred Bloomingdale when she was 22. Bloomingdale passed away in 1982. Paige wrote, “I could feel his hands, not only on my breasts, but seemingly everywhere. He was big and strong, and I began to fight, kick, bite and scream.” She added, “At 95, time is not on my side, and neither is silence. I simply want to add my name and say, ‘Me too.’”
Paige’s Hollywood career started after she performed an operatic aria for servicemen at the Hollywood Canteen during World War II. The next day, she was hired by MGM for a small role in “Bathing Beauty,” but was quickly let go. However, Warner Bros. signed her on the same day, casting her in “Hollywood Canteen” and offering her a contract at $150 per week. She later remembered earning more per week than her mother made in a month during the Great Depression.
Her contract with Warner Bros. ended in 1949 as television began to rival the film industry. Paige then moved to Broadway, starring in “Remains to Be Seen” and as Babe in the original production of “The Pajama Game.” She also worked with Fred Astaire in “Silk Stockings” after MGM producer Arthur Freed saw her nightclub act.
In 2003, Paige returned to performing after a long hiatus, opening a show called “The Third Act” in San Francisco, California. She also made appearances on several TV shows, including “It’s Always Jan,” “Flamingo Road,” and “All in the Family.” In 1976, she played a diner waitress who tries to tempt Archie Bunker into cheating on his wife, Edith, on “All in the Family”.
In 2020, Paige published her autobiography “Reading Between the Lines: A Memoir,” detailing her interactions with numerous Hollywood icons.
Born Donna May Tjaden, Paige was raised in Tacoma, Washington. She had two brief marriages before marrying songwriter Ray Gilbert, who won an Oscar for the song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Gilbert passed away in 1976, and Paige subsequently managed his music company.