What was Janis Paige famous for? Hollywood centenarian passes away at 101

The comedic singing star of Hollywood and Broadway, Janis Paige, died aged 101 on June 2, 2024. Her death was confirmed via an announcement post on her Facebook page which stated:

“We’re very sad to report that Janis Paige died yesterday, peacefully at home in Los Angeles. She was 101 and lived a life fuller than she could imagine.”

Referencing the musical icon’s words, the official post also mentioned that "Paige was grateful for everything" she had. It further stated:

“Please keep her in your thoughts and watch her performances, read her book, tell her stories, for that is how she will live on in the minds and hearts of all, for generations to come. May her memory be for a blessing.”

For the unversed, Janis Paige was most famous for her role as Babe Williams in the Hollywood musical, Silk Stockings, and the Broadway production, The Pajama Game.

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A closer look at Janis Paige’s career as she passes away aged 101

Janis Paige kept her fans updated with occasional posts on her Facebook page. On her last birthday, she unveiled her autobiography titled Reading Between the Lines: A Memoir by Janis Paige and urged fans to purchase it via her official website.

Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, Janis Paige was discovered during a performance at the legendary Hollywood Canteen in the 1940s. It was a chance act as Paige, who served coffee and sandwiches at the Stage Door Canteen, was bought for one night only as a fill-in performer for an absent singer.

But with her undeniable talent, that single night turned into over a hundred projects for the aspiring singer and actress. She was immediately cast in a high-profile number Bathing Beauties, a 1944 musical by Esther Williams, alongside Red Skelton.

She debuted on Broadway in the 1951 mystery comedy Remains to Be Seen opposite Jackie Cooper. A couple of years later, Janis Paige landed another iconic role.

In The Pajama Game, Paige portrayed Katherine “Babe” Williams. It was an OG Broadway musical that premiered at the St. James Theater in May 1954 and ran for over 1,000 performances in more than 15 months. While the musical had a 1957 big-screen version at Warner Brothers, actress Doris Day was roped in to play Paige’s character in the film adaptation.

Another stand-in performance led to one of Paige’s most remembered works as she replaced Angela Lansbury in the 1968 Broadway production, Mame. She played the title character there for around two years.

Around six years on TV and stage, Janis Paige later teamed up with Fred Astaire to return to the big screen in the 1957 film by Greta Garbo titled Silk Stockings, which was based on Ninotchka (1939). It was among the most memorable and “hard” roles Paige had ever done. In a 2016 interview with Miami Herald, the enduring star said:

“I was one mass of bruises. I didn’t know how to fall. I didn’t know how to get down on a table—I didn’t know how to save myself because I was never a classic dancer. Those are the tips you learn when you learn how to dance.”

For Silk Stockings, Paige and Astaire made a song-and-dance number called Stereophonic Sound, which saw the duo swinging on a chandelier overhead some reporters.

Since her stint at the Hollywood Canteen, Janis Paige featured in numerous projects on TV, stage, and movies. During her television days, she starred as a widowed mother in It’s Always Jan (1955-1956), a waitress in All in the Family (1976-1978), and as Minx Lockridge in Santa Barbara, among others.

She was also part of the 1960s Broadway musical titled Here’s Love and toured with the productions of Sweet Charity, Annie Get Your Gun, and Guys and Dolls.

At 89, Janis Paige continued with an active cabaret career and performed an autobiographical one-woman cabaret show in West Hollywood. Her final acting credit was a 2001 episode of Family Law.