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Janet Blair

This article is about the big band singer and actress. For the singer-songwriter, see Janet Blair (singer-songwriter).

Janet Blair (born Martha Janet Lafferty; April 23, 1921 – February 19, 2007) was an American big-band singer who later became a popular film and television actress.

Janet Blair
Blair ca. 1940s
Born
Martha Janet Lafferty

(1921-04-23)April 23, 1921
Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedFebruary 19, 2007(2007-02-19) (aged 85)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1941–1991
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1943; div. 1950)​
Nick Mayo
​
​
(m. 1953; div. 1971)​
Children2

Early life

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Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April 23, 1921 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the daughter of musically oriented parents.[1] Her father led the choir and sang solos in his church, and her mother played both piano and organ.[1] She had a brother, Fred Jr., and a sister, Louise.[2]

Film

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Blair in Tonight and Every Night (1945)

Blair's showbusiness career began as a featured singer in the Hal Kemp Orchestra. She began her film career in 1941 under contract to Columbia Pictures.[3] During World War II, she appeared as the pin-up girl in the March 1944 issue of Yank, the Army Weekly magazine. She appeared in a series of successful films, although she may be best remembered for playing Rosalind Russell's sister in My Sister Eileen (1942)[4] and Rita Hayworth's friend in Tonight and Every Night (1945). In the 1947 film The Fabulous Dorseys, Blair returned to her musical roots, portraying a singer.[5] In the late 1940s, she had star billing in the crime drama I Love Trouble and the comedy The Fuller Brush Man (both 1948).

She was dropped by Columbia in 1947 and did not return to film for several years. "I gave up Hollywood and I gave up pictures" she explained. "All I got were princess parts. A girl gets tired of being a princess all of the time."[6]

In 1962, she appeared in a rare dramatic role in the British horror film Night of the Eagle and played the wife of Tony Randall in the comedy Boys' Night Out with James Garner and Kim Novak.

Stage

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In 1950, Blair took the lead role of Nellie Forbush in the American touring production of the stage musical South Pacific, with more than 1,200 performances in three years.[7] During the tour, she married her second husband, producer-director Nick Mayo, and they later had two children.

Blair also starred in the Broadway comedy A Girl Can Tell in 1953.[7]

Television

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In 1955, Blair starred as Venus in a live production of One Touch of Venus on NBC.[8]

 
Blair and Henry Fonda in The Smith Family, 1971

Blair appeared on television in various variety-show guest appearances[9] and served as Dinah Shore's summer replacement on the Dinah Shore Chevy Show in 1958.[10] She was a cast member during the 1956–1957 season on Caesar's Hour, a comedy-variety series starring Sid Caesar.[11]

She appeared as a guest panelist on the June 9, 1957 episode of What's My Line?.[12]

Blair costarred with Henry Fonda in The Smith Family,[13] an ABC comedy-drama series. Her last performance on television was in a 1991 episode of Murder, She Wrote.

Radio

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On radio, Blair costarred with George Raft in "Broadway," a 1942 episode of Lux Radio Theatre on CBS.[14]

Recording

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Blair recorded an album of standards entitled Flame Out! for the Dico label,[15] which included ballads such as "Don't Explain" and "Then You've Never Been Blue".

Personal life

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Janis Carter, Blair and Franchot Tone in I Love Trouble (1948)

Blair married musical arranger and conductor[16] Louis Ferdinand Busch on July 12, 1943 in Lake Arrowhead, California. They had met four years earlier when Blair sang for Hal Kemp's band and Busch was Kemp's pianist and arranger.[17] They divorced in March 1950.[18] Two years later, Blair wed television producer Nick Mayo, with whom she later had two children, Andrew and Amanda. The couple remained together for 19 years until their divorce in 1971.[19][20]

Blair was a Republican and campaigned for Thomas Dewey in the 1944 presidential election.[21]

On February 19, 2007, Blair died at the age of 85 at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California from complications of pneumonia.[22][7] She was cremated.[23]

Filmography

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Television

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Radio

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Discography

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  • Flame Out (1959, Dico)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Road Wasn't Difficult For Janet Blair". Waco Tribune-Herald. Waco Tribune. December 7, 1952. p. 54. Retrieved April 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Coleman, William A. (October 14, 1956). "Caesar's third "wife"". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 139. Retrieved September 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Ewald, William (September 25, 1956). "Janet Blair Irked at Fabray Comparison". The Times. The Times. p. 11. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Roz Russell, Janet Blair Stars of 'My Sister Eileen' at State". Kingsport Times. Kingsport Times. January 10, 1943. p. 8. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Zylstra, Freida (May 18, 1947). "Janet Blair". Chicago Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  6. ^ Thomas, Bob (February 21, 2007). "Janet Blair, 85". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Simonson, Robert (February 21, 2007). "Janet Blair, Stage, Film and Television Actress, Is Dead at 85". Playbill. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  8. ^ Hischak, Thomas (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television. Oxford University Press. p. 556. ISBN 9780195335330. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  9. ^ Hopper, Hedda (September 3, 1950). "Adrift in South Pacific". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 26. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ Bundy, June (June 30, 1958). "Chevy Show Potential Record Album Seller" (PDF). Billboard. p. 5. Retrieved September 9, 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ Kleiner, Dick (July 4, 1957). "Janet Blair Won't Look Back On Her Year Of Disappointment". Pampa Daily News. p. 13. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  12. ^ What's My Line? (January 13, 2014). "What's My Line? – Johnnie Ray; Ozzie Nelson [panel]; Janet Blair [panel] (Jun 9, 1957)". Archived from the original on December 15, 2021 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Actress Janet Blair, native of Altoona, dies at age 85". The Daily News. February 21, 2007. p. 2. Retrieved September 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  14. ^ "Drama Heads WHP Bill". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. November 19, 1942. p. 20. Retrieved April 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  15. ^ "Names on Profit Sharing Basis New Label's Aim" (PDF). Billboard. May 25, 1959. p. 18. Retrieved September 9, 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Janet Blair Is Given Surprise Welcome Home". Altoona Tribune. Altoona Tribune. January 7, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  17. ^ "'My Sister Eileen' Wedded to Early Sweetheart". The Salt Lake Tribune. The Salt Lake Tribune. July 13, 1943. p. 14. Retrieved September 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  18. ^ "Movie Divorce Crop Is Large". The Spokesman-Review. January 2, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  19. ^ "Children Watch As Parents Are Wed". Kentucky New Era. October 19, 1963. p. 12. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  20. ^ Pearson, Howard. "Laudable Ambition". The Deseret News. p. B8. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  21. ^ Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521199186 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ "Stage, Screen and TV Star Janet Blair Dies at 86 Read more about Stage, Screen and TV Star Janet Blair Dies at 86". broadwayworld.com. February 21, 2007. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  23. ^ Wilson, Scott (September 16, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476625997 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ "Rehearsal". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. November 11, 1946. p. 19. Retrieved September 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  25. ^ "'Hollywood' Star". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. December 21, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  

Further reading

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  • Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7.
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