Happy Centennial Birthday, Janis Paige!

Today is a happy day, the centennial of the birth of Janis Paige.

The vivacious singer-actress was born in Tacoma, Washington, on September 16, 2022.

Paige worked in films, television, and on stage for over half a century, starting with a small role in MGM's Esther Williams film BATHING BEAUTY (1944).

She then had a run of several years at Warner Bros., from 1944 through 1950. Her first big starring film role at Warner Bros. was HER KIND OF MAN (1946).

My favorite Paige films from this phrase of her career include THE TIME, THE PLACE, AND THE GIRL (1946), seen here with Jack Carson, Martha Vickers, and Dennis Morgan...

...and the wonderful family comedy WALLFLOWER (1948), in which she played the loving (if competitive) stepsister of Joyce Reynolds. They're seen here with Don McGuire.

Paige is shown in this WALLFLOWER scene with Edward Arnold. I love her wardrobe in this movie!

After leaving Warner Bros., Paige did a couple films for low-budget Eagle-Lion, then hit it big on stage in the original Broadway cast of the Tony Award winning musical THE PAJAMA GAME, which opened in May 1954. She's seen here opposite costar John Raitt. Paige remained with the show for over a year of its two-and-a-half-year run.

THE PAJAMA GAME was actually my first exposure to Paige's work, as I grew up listening to her on the original Broadway cast album long before I saw any of her films. It remains one of my favorite Broadway musical recordings to this day.

Paige was the only major original cast member who didn't appear in the film version of THE PAJAMA GAME (1957), with her role going to a star who meant big box office: Doris Day. Coincidentally, Day and Paige had costarred on screen nearly a decade before in ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (1948).

No one can deny Day was perfect in THE PAJAMA GAME, but I wish there were a musical movie "multiverse" allowing me to also see Paige in the role! As much as I love Doris Day and the movie, when I want to listen to the show's score, I always return to the Broadway cast album.

Paige had good supporting parts in a handful of films in the late '50s-early '60s, including a dynamic comedic role in SILK STOCKINGS (1957), seen above with Fred Astaire. She appeared regularly in episodic TV until 2001, with recurring roles on shows such as EIGHT IS ENOUGH and TRAPPER JOHN, M.D., as well as the soap operas GENERAL HOSPITAL and SANTA BARBARA.

Paige published a memoir, READING BETWEEN THE LINES, in 2020.  I haven't read it yet, but I intend to!

Off the screen, Paige had two relatively brief marriages, then married Disney composer Ray Gilbert ("Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah") in 1962. They were married until his passing in 1976.

Happiest birthday wishes to a performer who has brought me countless hours of wonderful entertainment!

Related post: Halloween 2018.

Previous reviews of Janis Paige films: HER KIND OF MAN (1946), TWO GUYS FROM MILWAUKEE (1946) (also here), THE TIME, THE PLACE AND THE GIRL (1946), LOVE AND LEARN (1947), CHEYENNE (1947), WINTER MEETING (1948), WALLFLOWER (1948) (also here), ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (1948) (also here), THE YOUNGER BROTHERS (1949), THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET (1949), THIS SIDE OF THE LAW (1950), SILK STOCKINGS (1957), PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES (1960), BACHELOR IN PARADISE (1961) (also here).

June 2024 Update: Janis Paige Dies at 101.

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