#Josephine the plumber series#

Withers's big break came after two years when she landed a supporting role in the Shirley Temple film Bright Eyes (also 1934), also directed by Butler. Afterwards, he praised her timing and called over her mother to compliment her on Jane's talent and predict that she would go far. Fields selected her from a group of juvenile extras to do a pantomime hopscotch scene with him. Withers was working as an extra on It's a Gift (1934), when W. You've got a special quality and someday you are going to be a famous little star'. He told her, 'You're different than any other kid that I've ever seen in Hollywood. Butler was the first to notice this about her. 'Every interview I ever went on I was the only one with a tailored dress, with straight bangs and straight haircut, and no curls and no frills', she recalled. She stood out from the other girls at auditions because of her appearance: she had a Dutchboy bob and preferred tailored clothes to frilly dresses. Withers subsequently appeared in many films as an uncredited extra, though occasionally she had a line of dialogue. Handle with Care was Withers's first film appearance, though she and all the children were photographed with their backs to the camera. The assistant director told her that Butler had seen her and wanted her to interview as well. 'Sir, I was not invited to the interview. The assistant director came over and asked her why she was not standing with the others. Withers stood to the side while the other children interviewed with director David Butler. She got her first film role as an extra when their neighbor invited her to come along for her daughter's interview for Handle with Care (1932). In Los Angeles, Jane performed on children's shows on KFWB radio, did cartoon voice-overs, and also modeled. Walter remained in Atlanta, sending them $100 a month on which to live. Move to Hollywood Īfter two years of her radio work, Ruth took Jane to Hollywood before her sixth birthday in 1932 to explore opportunities in film. At age 3½ she had her own radio show called Dixie's Dainty Dewdrop, where she also interviewed celebrities who were visiting Atlanta. Fields, ZaSu Pitts, Maurice Chevalier, Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, and Greta Garbo. She was cast on Aunt Sally's Kiddie Revue, a Saturday-morning children's program broadcast on WGST radio in Atlanta, in which she sang, danced, and did impersonations of film stars such as W. Jane launched her entertainment career at the age of three after winning a local amateur contest called Dixie's Dainty Dewdrop. When Jane was two, Ruth enrolled her in a tap dance school, and also taught her to sing. Both in Atlanta and in Hollywood, the family would invite 'six busloads of orphan children' to come to their home after church and Sunday school for lunch and afternoon entertainment. The family recited blessings at mealtime and devoted themselves to charitable works, which stood with Jane her entire life. Ruth taught Sunday school and Walter taught Bible classes in their local Presbyterian church. She determined before Jane was born that she would have one daughter who would go into show business, and chose the name Jane so that 'even with a long last name like Withers, it would fit on a marquee'. Ruth had had her own aspirations to be an actress nixed by her parents.

Jane Withers was born on April 12, 1926, in Atlanta, Georgia, the only child of Walter Edward Withers and Lavinia Ruth (née Elble) Withers.

8 Return to the screen and television work.

She was also known for her philanthropy and her extensive doll collection. She was interviewed in numerous documentary retrospectives of the Golden Age of Hollywood. In the 1990s and early 2000s, she did voice work for Disney animated films.

#Josephine the plumber series#

From 1963 to 1974, she portrayed the character Josephine the Plumber in a series of television commercials for Comet cleanser. She returned to film and television as a character actor in the 1950s. She made 38 films before retiring at age 21 in 1947. In 1932, she and her mother moved to Hollywood, where she appeared as an extra in many films until landing her breakthrough role as the spoiled, obnoxious Joy Smythe opposite Shirley Temple's angelic orphan Shirley Blake in the 1934 film Bright Eyes. She began her entertainment career at the age of three and, during the Golden Age of Radio, hosted her own children's radio program in her home city of Atlanta, Georgia. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list for box-office gross in 19. Jane Withers (Ap– August 7, 2021) was an American actress and children's radio show host.

Young Artist Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award