Lois January
33 movies · 3 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Oct 5, 1912
- Died
- Aug 7, 2006 (age 93)
- Place of birth
- McAllen, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- Laura Lois January
Biography
Lois January was an American actress who performed small roles in several B-movies during the 1930s.
Lois also had a secondary part in the Wizard Of Oz, towards the end of the movie, holding a Siamese cat in her arms. Toto jumps out of the basket of the hot air balloon that was supposed to take him, Dorothy and the Wizard away from the Land of Oz.
Read the full biography
January's first credited role was in 1933, in the film UM-PA. Her most famous role, however, is probably as the Emerald City manicurist in The Wizard of Oz who sings to Dorothy that "we can make a dimpled smile out of a frown". Although the character was unnamed, many fans believe it to be an incarnation of novel character Jellia Jamb.
During the 1930s she played in numerous westerns as the heroine, usually opposite Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Steele, Tim McCoy and Bob Baker, among others. In 1935 she starred opposite Reb Russell in Arizona Badman, and in 1936 she starred with Brown in Rogue of the Range, and alongside Tim McCoy in Border Caballero. While under contract with Universal Pictures she continued to play heroine roles in westerns, and in 1937 she starred opposite Bob Baker in Courage of the West. The reissuing of the 1935 exploitation film The Pace That Kills (under the title Cocaine Fiends) would eventually lend January even more exposure, however limited.
January's Broadway credits include High Kickers (1941) and Yokel Boy (1939).
By the mid-1940s, her starring roles had waned but she continued to act in non-starring parts. In 1942 she was the "poster girl" for Chesterfield cigarettes. From 1960 through 1987 she played numerous small roles on television, to include roles on My Three Sons and Marcus Welby, M.D. Her last acting role was in 1987, on the television movie Double Agent. During the 1980s she attended several western film festivals.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Lois January: movies and TV shows
Acting (36)
- 1987 Double Agent
as Dowager
- 1977 The Richard Pryor Special?
as Older Woman
- 1973 My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
as Nurse
- 1969
- 1961 The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
as Mrs. Dean
- 1960
- 1954
- 1943 Three Cheers for the Girls
as Brunette in Dressing Room (uncredited)
- 1937 Courage of the West
as Beth Andrews
- 1937 The Red Rope
as Betty Duncan
- 1937 Moonlight on the Range
as Wanda Brooks
- 1937 The Trusted Outlaw
as Molly Clark
- 1937 Bar-Z Bad Men
as Beth Harvey
- 1937 Lightnin' Crandall
as Sheila Shannon
- 1937 The Roaming Cowboy
as Jeannie Morgan
- 1936 One Rainy Afternoon
as Mr. Perelin's Secretary
- 1936 Rogue of the Range
as Stella Lamb
- 1936 Lightnin' Bill Carson
as Dolores Costello
- 1936 Border Caballero
as Goldie Harris
- 1935 Skull and Crown
as Barbara Franklin
- 1935 The Pace That Kills
as Jane Bradford
- 1935 Society Fever
as Julie Prouty
- 1935 Stolen Harmony
as Girl in Sextette (uncredited)
- 1935 Arizona Bad Man
as Lucy Dunston
- 1935 Life Returns
as Nurse
- 1934 The Human Side
as High School Girl (uncredited)
- 1934 Tripping Through the Tropics
as Sally
- 1934 Susie's Affairs
as Susie's Brunette Roommate
- 1934 Let's Talk It Over
as Alice
- 1934 Let’s Be Ritzy
as Stenographer
- 1934 Uncertain Lady
as Maid (uncredited)
- 1934 School for Romance
as Student
- 1933 By Candlelight
as Ann
- 1933 Umpa
as Nurse
- 1932 Show Business
as Showgirl on Train (uncredited)
- 1932 Too Many Women
as Girl in White Wool Hat (uncredited)