Lois January

DOB: 1912-10-05

DOD: 2006-08-07

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. 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.

Starred In

1935
Movie

Life Returns

1936
Movie

Border Caballero

1936
Movie

Rogue of the Range

1933
Movie

Umpa

1937
Movie

Bar-Z Bad Men

1937
Movie

The Trusted Outlaw

1933
Movie

By Candlelight

1932
Movie

Show Business

1935
Movie

Stolen Harmony

1935
Movie

Society Fever

1937
Movie

The Roaming Cowboy

1932
Movie

Too Many Women

1934
Movie

Let’s Be Ritzy

1935
Movie

Arizona Bad Man

1937
Movie

Lightnin' Crandall

1935
Movie

Skull and Crown

1937
Movie

The Red Rope

1934
Movie

Susie's Affairs

1934
Movie

Let's Talk It Over

1934
Movie

The Human Side

1934
Movie

School for Romance

1987
Movie

Double Agent

1960
Tv

My Three Sons