Janet Blair

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

Contents
Early years
Film
Stage
Clubs
Television
Radio
Recording
Personal life and death
Born Martha Janet Lafferty
Filmography April 23, 1921
Television
Altoona,
Radio
Pennsylvania, U.S.
Discography
Died February 19, 2007
References
(aged 85)
Further reading
Los Angeles,
External links California, U.S.
Cause of Complications from
death pneumonia
Early years Resting Cremated[1]
Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April 23, 1921, in Altoona, place
Pennsylvania, the daughter of musically oriented parents,[2] Mr. and Mrs. Fred B. Occupation Actress, singer
Lafferty.[3] Her father led the choir and sang solos in his church, and her mother
Years active 1941–1991
played both piano and organ.[2] She had a brother, Fred Jr., and a sister, Louise.[4]
Spouse(s) Lou Busch (m. 1943–
1950)
Film Nick Mayo (m. 1953–
Blair began her acting career on film in 1941, being placed under contract to 1971)
Columbia Pictures. Before that, she was a featured singer in the Hal Kemp Children 2
Orchestra.[5] During World War II she appeared as the pin-up girl in the March 1944
issue of Yank Magazine. She made a string of successful pictures, although she is today best remembered for playing Rosalind
Russell's sister in My Sister Eileen (1942)[6] and Rita Hayworth's best friend in Tonight and Every Night (1945). In the 1947 film The
Fabulous Dorseys, Blair returned to her musical roots, portraying a singer.[7] In the late 1940s, Blair had star billing in the crime
drama I Love Trouble (both 1948) as well as in The Fuller Brush Man, a comedy with Red Skelton, but was dropped by Columbia
and did not return to pictures for several years.

She made a rare dramatic appearance in the British horror film Night of the Eagle (1962). She played the wife of Tony Randall in the
comedy Boys' Night Out, a motion picture released in the same year, which starred James Garner and Kim Novak.
Stage
In 1950, Blair took the lead role of Nellie Forbush in the U.S touring production of the stage musical South Pacific, making more
than 1,200 performances in three years.[8] "[I] never missed a performance", she noted proudly. During the tour, she also got married
to second husband, producer-director Nick Mayo, and they became parents of Amanda and Andrew
.

Blair also starred in theBroadway comedy You Never Can Tell in 1953.[8]

Clubs
Blair was a star musical performer in premier nightclubs and supper clubs like the Empire Room at the aldorf
W Astoria in New York.

Television
In 1955, Blair starred as Venus in a live production of One Touch of Venus on NBC-TV.[9]

Blair appeared on television in various variety show guest appearances—saying, "I think I appeared on the Milton Berle Show more
than any other guest"[10] —and hosted, with John Raitt and Edie Adams, the 1958 summer replacement for the Dinah Shore Chevy
Show for the vacationing star Dinah Shore.[11] She was a cast member during the 1956-57 TV season on Caesar's Hour, a comedy-
variety series starringSid Caesar.[12]

She appeared as a guest panelist on the June 9, 1957, episode ofWhat's My Line?[13]

On television in 1971, Blair co-starred with Henry Fonda in The Smith Family,[14] a comedy-drama series on ABC featuring Ron
Howard as their son. Her last performance on television was in a 1991 episode ofMurder, She Wrote, starring Angela Lansbury.

Radio
On radio, Blair co-starred withGeorge Raft in "Broadway," a 1942 episode of Lux Radio Theatre on CBS.[15]

Recording
Blair recorded an album of standards entitled Flame Out! for the Dico label[16] which included ballads like "Don't Explain" and
"Then You've Never Been Blue."

Personal life and death

Blair was married twice. Her first marriage was to musical arranger and conductor[3] Louis Ferdinand Busch on July 12, 1943, at
Lake Arrowhead, California. The two 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, succumbing to complications from pneumonia.[22] She was survived by a
daughter and a son.[8] Her cremains were given to her son.

Filmography
Three Girls About Town (1941) - Charity Banner
Blondie Goes to College(1942) - Laura Wadsworth
Two Yanks in Trinidad (1942) - Patricia Dare
Broadway (1942) - Billie Moore
My Sister Eileen (1942) - Eileen Sherwood
 Something to Shout About(1943) - Jeanie Maxwell
Once Upon a Time (1944) - Jeannie Thompson
Tonight and Every Night(1945) - Judy Kane
Tars and Spars (1946) - Christine Bradley
Gallant Journey (1946) - Regina 'Ginny' Cleary
The Fabulous Dorseys(1947) - Jane Howard
I Love Trouble (1948) - Norma Shannon aka Gretchen Breeger
The Black Arrow (1948) - Joanna Sedley
The Fuller Brush Man (1948) - Ann Elliot
Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957) - Edith Enders
Night of the Eagle (US: Burn, Witch, Burn, 1962) - Tansy Taylor
Boys' Night Out (1962) - Marge Drayton
The One and Only, Genuine, Original FamilyBand (1968) - Katie Bower
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood(1976) - President's Girl 3
in Tonight and Every Night(1945)

Television
The Ford Theatre Hour(1948)
The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949)
The Philco Television Playhouse (1949)
Armstrong Circle Theatre(1954) - Marilyn Wilson
The Elgin Hour (1954) - Lacey Gaddis Clark
The United States Steel Hour(1954) - Peg St. Claire
Goodyear Television Playhouse (1955)
A Connecticut Yankee (1955, TV) - Sandy
Lux Video Theatre (1955) - Shelly Carnes
Climax! (1955) - Joan Hale
Front Row Center (1955) - Kitty Foyle
One Touch of Venus (1955, TV) - Venus
Ford Television Theatre (1956) - Mary Higgins
Screen Directors Playhouse(1956) - Della Morgan
Caesar's Hour (1956–1957)
Alcoa Theatre (1958) - Lily Adair
Around the World with Nellie Bly(1960 TV movie) -
Elizabeth Jane Cochran (Nellie Bly)
The Chevy Mystery Show(1960) - Lisa Townsend
Shirley Temple's Storybook (1960) - Aunt Polly
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show(1960–1961) - Herself
The Outer Limits (1963) - Lynn Arthur
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre(1964) -
Polly Emerson
Destry (1964) - Bessie Hawkins
Burke's Law (1963–1964) - Violet / Rina Jacobs
Ben Casey (1966)
Marcus Welby, M.D. (1970–1973) - Mrs. Carter / Ann
Ferris
The Smith Family (1971–1972) - Betty Smith
Switch (1977) - Isabel Jensen Craig Harris
Fantasy Island (1980) - Jackie Flynn
The Love Boat (1982) - Mrs. Joan Gerber
Murder, She Wrote (1991) - Bertie (final television
appearance)

Radio
Lux Radio Theatre (1946 - Gallant Journey)[23]
This Is Hollywood (1946 - Along Came Jones)[24]

Discography
Flame Out (1959, Dico)

References
1. https://books.google.com/books?
id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&dq=Janet+Blair+cremated&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU6PDJ2tHUAhWEOCYKHWjUA
T8
2. "Road Wasn't Difficult For Janet Blair" (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2256520/janet_blair_background_info/).
Waco Tribune. December 7, 1952. p. 54. Retrieved April 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Janet Blair Is Given Surprise Welcome Home" (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2256682/janet_blair_background_
info/). Altoona Tribune. January 7, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
 4. Coleman, William A. (October 14, 1956)."Caesar's third "wife" " (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3185727/the_cor
pus_christi_callertimes/). The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 139. Retrieved September 8, 2015 – via
Newspapers.com.
5. Ewald, William (September 25, 1956)."Janet Blair Irked at Fabray Comparison"(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3
179846/the_times/). The Times. p. 11. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Roz Russell, Janet Blair Stars of 'My Sister Eileen' at State"(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3179781/kingsport_ti
mes/). Kingsport Times. January 10, 1943. p. 8. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Zylstra, Freida (May 18, 1947)."Janet Blair" (http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1947/05/18/page/227/article/janet-bl
air). Chicago Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
8. Simonson, Robert (February 21, 2007)."Janet Blair, Stage, Film and Television Actress, Is Dead at 85"(http://www.p
laybill.com/news/article/janet-blair-stage-film-and-television-actress-is-dead-at-85-138710)
. Playbill. Retrieved
8 September 2015.
9. Hischak, Thomas (2008).The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and elevision
T (https://boo
ks.google.com/?id=XbBz3C4Gr0EC&pg=P A556&lpg=PA556&dq=one+touch+of+venus+tv+1955#v=onepage&q=on
e%20touch%20of%20venus%20tv%201955&f=false) . Oxford University Press. p. 556.ISBN 9780195335330.
Retrieved 8 September 2015.
10. Hopper, Hedda (September 3, 1950)."Adrift in South Pacific"(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3180330/the_salt_la
ke_tribune/). The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 26. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Bundy, June (June 30, 1958)."Chevy Show Potential Record Album Seller"(http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd
2/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/50s/1958/Billboard%201958-06-30-OCR-Page-0005.pdf) (PDF). Billboard. p. 5.
Retrieved 9 September 2015.
12. Kleiner, Dick (July 4, 1957). "Janet Blair Won't Look Back On Her Year Of Disappointment"(https://www.newspapers.
com/clip/3179709/pampa_daily_news/). Pampa Daily News. p. 13. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via
Newspapers.com.
13. What's My Line? - Johnnie Ray; Ozzie Nelson (panel); Janet Blair (panel) (Jun 9, 1957)
(https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=o3Fzkdi61So)
14. "Actress Janet Blair, native of Altoona, dies at age 85" (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3185500/the_daily_news/).
The Daily News. February 21, 2007. p. 2. Retrieved September 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Drama Heads WHP Bill"(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2256651/janet_blair_lux_r_t/). Harrisburg Telegraph.
November 19, 1942. p. 20. Retrieved April 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Names on Profit Sharing Basis New Label's Aim"(http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Billboard-IDX/I
DX/50s/1959/Billboard%201959-05-25-OCR-Page-0018.pdf)(PDF). Billboard. May 25, 1959. p. 18. Retrieved
9 September 2015.
17. " 'My Sister Eileen' Wedded to Early Sweetheart"
(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3185602/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"(https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0jBW AAAAIBAJ&sjid=xuUDAAAAIBAJ&pg
=7126,363073&dq=janet+blair+divorce&hl=en) . The Spokesman-Review. January 2, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved April 22,
2013.
19. "Children Watch As Parents Are Wed" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C-YrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TmcF AAAAIB
AJ&pg=3199,4189721&dq=janet+blair+nick+mayo&hl=en) . Kentucky New Era. October 19, 1963. p. 12. Retrieved
April 22, 2013.
20. Pearson, Howard. "Laudable Ambition" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ubVSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fH8DAAAAI
BAJ&pg=6617,3403969&dq=janet+blair+divorce+nick&hl=en) . The Deseret News. p. B8. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
21. https://books.google.com/books?
id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=Janet+Blair+Republican&source=bl&ots=R
bMFMf4u3Y&sig=-8XXnzIWjHptG
4_7jVAhVH0mMKHV02D_s4ChDoAQgsMAE#v=onepage&q=Janet%20Blair%20Republican&f=false
22. "Stage, Screen and TV Star Janet Blair Dies at 86 Read more about Stage, Screen and TV Star Janet Blair Dies at
86" (http://broadwayworld.com/article/Stage-Screen-and-TV-Star-Janet-Blair-Dies-at-86-20070221).
broadwayworld.com. February 21, 2007. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
23. "Rehearsal" (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3232232/harrisburg_telegraph/). Harrisburg Telegraph. November 11,
1946. p. 19. Retrieved September 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
24. " 'Hollywood' Star" (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3179517/harrisburg_telegraph/). Harrisburg Telegraph.
December 21, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

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

External links
Janet Blair on IMDb
Janet Blair at AllMovie
Janet Blair at the Internet Broadway Database
Daily Telegraph obituary
Photos of Janet Blair in Columbia Pictures 1940's filmsby Ned Scott

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