Remembering Child Star Jane Withers (1926-2021)

 Jane Withers, who died last week at the age of 95, was a
 talented child actress who began her career in entertainment at
the tender age of three in her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia
where she hosted her own children's radio program.  

Actress Jane Withers as "Josephine The Plumber"

She was later cast in the role as the bullying spoiled 
 brat Joy Smythe who enjoyed tormenting poor little Shirley Blake
(played by Shirley Temple) in the 1934 movie, "Bright Eyes".
Although they appeared as rivals on the big screen,
in real life Jane and Shirley were lifelong friends.

A scene from the movie, "Bright Eyes"

(1934)

Jane was cast in 47 films during her career as a child actress.
She was one of the top 10 box office draws in 1937 and 1938.
In 1940, she had become so in demand that Fox Studios cast her 
 with the famous singing group, The Ritz Brothers, in the movie,
"Pack Up Your Troubles".  She also worked with none other
than the "Singing Cowboy" actor Gene Autry in the
feature film, "Shooting High".

As Jane matured into her teenage years, she grew increasingly
frustrated with the childish roles offered to her.  At the age of 15,
under the pen name Jerrie Walters, she wrote the original story
of "Small Town Deb".  The story was then adapted to the big
screen and released by Fox Studios in 1941.  Jane was cast in
the film as the lead character, Patricia Randall.

Although her contract ended with Fox in 1943, Jane
continued to work in Hollywood and appeared in the
controversial anti-war film, "The North Star"  (1943)
 which was accused at the time of being pro-Soviet propaganda.  

In 1947, 21 year old Jane decided to retire from the film industry.
She later married Bill Moss, a Texas oilman and rancher and became
the mother of three children.  In 1954, the couple divorced and the
following year she married singer Kenneth Errair.  She and Errair
 had two children and were married until his death in 1968.

Also in the 1950's Jane returned to acting, and played the role of 
Vashti Hake Snythe, the neighbor of Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson
in the movie, "Giant" (1956).  She was also much in demand as a
character actress in the burgeoning television industry.

Only a decade later she would literally become a
household name in her role as "Josephine The Plumber"
in television commercials for Comet Cleanser.

In one of my favorite episodes of the hit mystery series,
"Murder She Wrote" entitled, "Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?"(1991)
  Jane played a would-be sleuth who meets an untimely
 demise while using Jessica Fletcher's name! 
This was one of her final screen roles.

Jane was also an avid doll collector!  Like fellow child actress and
 onscreen rival Shirley Temple, Jane began collecting dolls as a child.
She received many as presents from her fans.  Her collection grew to
be one of the largest in the world.  By the early 1940's she is said to
have owned an estimated 3,500 dolls!

The "rivals" and their dollies!

Her doll family increased over the years to include more than 8,000
dolls and at least 2,500 teddy bears.   Jane purchased some of
the dolls herself, however, she also received a teddy bear from 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and a doll from First Lady Eleanor
 who gave Jane a French doll which she had received as a child.

In the 1980's Jane announced her plan to build a doll museum in
Burbank, California.  Unfortunately, the plans fell through and the dolls,
along with Hollywood film memorabilia which she had collected during her
career or purchased at auction, continued to be stored in a warehouse.
In 2013, she donated 6,000 dolls from her collection to a
history museum in California.

Jane Withers Doll

Madame Alexander