Janis Paige, an esteemed dancer and actress known for her flaming red hair and her roles in Hollywood films and Broadway musicals, has passed away at 101. Paige, who performed alongside stars like Fred Astaire and Bob Hope and continued her career into her 90s, passed away on June 2, due to natural causes, at her home in Los Angeles, California, as confirmed by her longtime friend Stuart Lampert on Monday.
Paige’s career highlights include starring roles on Broadway in the mystery-comedy “Remains to be Seen” with Jackie Cooper and the major hit musical “The Pajama Game” with John Raitt. She also appeared in several films such as “Bachelor in Paradise,” a comedy featuring Bob Hope, the Doris Day comedy “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies,” and “Follow the Boys.”
In 2018, Paige joined the #MeToo movement, revealing an assault by the late department-store heir Alfred Bloomingdale when she was 22. Bloomingdale passed away in 1982. “I could feel his hands, not only on my breasts, but seemingly everywhere. He was big and strong, and I began to fight, kick, bite and scream,” Paige wrote, adding, “At 95, time is not on my side, and neither is silence. I simply want to add my name and say, ‘Me too.’”
Paige got her start in Hollywood after performing an operatic aria for servicemen at the Hollywood Canteen during World War II. The next day, MGM hired her for a small role in “Bathing Beauty,” but she was soon let go. On the same day, Warner Bros. signed her and cast her in “Hollywood Canteen,” starting her contract at $150 per week. She later recalled earning more per week than her mother had made in a month during the Great Depression.
Her contract with Warner Bros. ended in 1949, as television began to compete with the film industry. Paige then took her talents to Broadway, starring in “Remains to Be Seen” and as Babe in the original production of “The Pajama Game.” She also worked with Fred Astaire in “Silk Stockings” after MGM producer Arthur Freed saw her nightclub act.
Paige returned to performing in 2003 after a long hiatus, opening a show called “The Third Act” in San Francisco, California. She also made appearances on several TV shows, including “It’s Always Jan,” “Flamingo Road,” and “All in the Family”, where in 1976 she played a diner waitress who tries to tempt Archie Bunker into cheating on his wife, Edith.
In 2020, Paige published her autobiography, “Reading Between the Lines: A Memoir,” which detailed her connections with numerous Hollywood icons.
Born Donna May Tjaden, Paige grew up in Tacoma, Washington. She had two brief marriages before marrying songwriter Ray Gilbert in 1962, who won an Oscar for the song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Gilbert passed away in 1976, after which Paige managed his music company.
