Lois January

Lois January

Born: October 5, 1912
Died: August 7, 2006
in McAllen, Texas, USA
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.

Movies for Lois January...

Double Agent
Title: Double Agent
Character: Dowager
Released: March 29, 1987
Type: Movie
International spy Jason Starr disappears following an altercation while on a mission. His boss seeks out Jason's twin brother, veterinarian Warren Starbinder, and asks him to pose as Jason in order to complete his mission.
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The Richard Pryor Special?
Title: The Richard Pryor Special?
Character: Older Woman
Released: May 5, 1977
Type: Movie
Richard Pryor wanders around the NBC Studio, encountering various eccentrics. Meanwhile, the Reverend James L. White, the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada and others are taping their own segments.
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My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
Title: My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
Character: Nurse
Released: November 8, 1973
Type: Movie
In this sequel, the daughters' anniversary present is the news that their widowed father is about to get remarried.
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Title: Marcus Welby, M.D.
Character: Mrs. Sloan
Released: September 23, 1969
Type: TV
Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner and James Brolin as the younger doctor he often worked with, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell. The pilot, A Matter of Humanities, had aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on March 26, 1969.
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The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Title: The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Character: Mrs. Dean
Released: June 1, 1961
Type: Movie
Director Andrew V. McLaglen's 1961 drama, based on John William Fox's novel, is the tale of a young man returning home after fighting in the Civil War. The cast includes Jimmie Rodgers, Luana Patten, Chill Wills, George Kennedy, Neil Hamilton and Morris Ankrum.
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Title: My Three Sons
Released: September 29, 1960
Type: TV
A widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and later the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.
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Three Cheers for the Girls
Title: Three Cheers for the Girls
Character: Brunette in Dressing Room (uncredited)
Released: May 8, 1943
Type: Movie
This short film showcases six production numbers from various Warner Bros. musicals.
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Courage of the West
Title: Courage of the West
Character: Beth Andrews
Released: December 1, 1937
Type: Movie
Rangers go after bandits holding up Wells Fargo offices.
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The Red Rope
Title: The Red Rope
Character: Betty Duncan
Released: July 19, 1937
Type: Movie
Brade has hired Rattler Haynes to kill Tom Shaw. But when Shaw intercepts a message between the two, he alters it hoping it will cause the two outlaws to fight each other.
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Moonlight on the Range
Title: Moonlight on the Range
Character: Wanda Brooks
Released: June 10, 1937
Type: Movie
Tom "Killer" Dane kills Jeff's friend, who then pursues him. Jeff and Dane are look-alike half brothers, which allows Dane to make a raid dressed like Jeff. Jeff is arrested, but before Dane's henchman can organize a lynch mob, Fuzzy breaks him out and Jeff heads after Dane again.
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The Trusted Outlaw
Title: The Trusted Outlaw
Character: Molly Clark
Released: May 4, 1937
Type: Movie
Dan Ward, reformed and last member of an outlaw family, meets Molly Clark in a rocky draw near town. Ted Wells, a henchman for Dan's enemy Jim Swain, attempts to shoot Dan but is outdrawn and killed by the latter. Molly disappears and Dan learns that she and Wells had ridden there together. Sheriff Bob Larimer tells Dan that Molly is in love with Bert Gilmore and tried to have him ambushed. Dan takes a risky job with mine owner Pember of getting the $10,000 payroll through to the mine. Swain suspects that Dan is carrying the payroll, but his gang is unable to stop Dan. Betty Pember disregards Dan's warning that the hills are filled with Swain's men and she starts for town. She is kidnapped by Gilmore and Molly and Dan ride to her rescue.
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Bar-Z Bad Men
Title: Bar-Z Bad Men
Character: Beth Harvey
Released: April 21, 1937
Type: Movie
Jim Waters arrives at Ed Parks' ranch to find Parks' cattle herd mysteriously increased. Hamp Harvey has been losing cattle and he suspects Parks. But the culprit is Harvey's foreman Brent who gets his orders from the town's leading citizen Sig Barstell. Barstell wants Harvey's ranch and after trying to frame Harvey by killing Parks, Waters takes over and goes after both the killer and the rustlers.
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Lightnin' Crandall
Title: Lightnin' Crandall
Character: Sheila Shannon
Released: March 24, 1937
Type: Movie
Cowboy with a reputation as the fastest gun in Texas heads to Arizona to leave his past behind, but it keeps catching up to him.
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The Roaming Cowboy
Title: The Roaming Cowboy
Character: Jeannie Morgan
Released: January 4, 1937
Type: Movie
Two cowboys come upon a boy whose father has just been murdered. They promise to help find his killers.
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One Rainy Afternoon
Title: One Rainy Afternoon
Character: Mr. Perelin's Secretary
Released: May 13, 1936
Type: Movie
Suave French actor Philippe Martin provokes a scandal when, in a darkened theater, he mistakes young Monique for his mistress, Yvonne, and tries to kiss her. Charged with assault, the quick-thinking Philippe claims it's French tradition to do as he did, and is let go. To his surprise, Philippe learns that Monique has paid his fine. As the tabloids exploit the situation, Monique dates Philippe, until a photo appears of him kissing Yvonne.
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Rogue of the Range
Title: Rogue of the Range
Character: Stella Lamb
Released: April 24, 1936
Type: Movie
Doran and the Sheriff have a scheme to bring in an outlaw gang. Doran is sent to prison so he and the gang leader Mitchell can break out. This gets him into the gang but he is in trouble when it's revealed he is working with the Sheriff.
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Lightnin' Bill Carson
Title: Lightnin' Bill Carson
Character: Dolores Costello
Released: April 14, 1936
Type: Movie
A lawman captures the notorious "Pecos Kid", who is tried and hanged for his crimes--then starts to have doubts as to whether the Kid actually committed the crimes.
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Border Caballero
Title: Border Caballero
Character: Goldie Harris
Released: March 1, 1936
Type: Movie
Tex Weaver is working under cover to bring in a gang of bank robbers. When he is killed, Tim Ross, a marksman with Doc Shaw's traveling show, takes over. Posing as a Mexican he lays a trap for the gang.
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Skull and Crown
Title: Skull and Crown
Character: Barbara Franklin
Released: December 16, 1935
Type: Movie
Rin-Tin-Tin brings the killer of his mistress to justice.
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The Pace That Kills
Title: The Pace That Kills
Character: Jane Bradford
Released: December 1, 1935
Type: Movie
A drug dealer on the run from the law meets an innocent young girl and her brother, and turns them into “cocaine fiends”.
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Society Fever
Title: Society Fever
Character: Julie Prouty
Released: July 15, 1935
Type: Movie
A mother starts to get worried when she finds out that some wealthy friends have been invited to dinner with her somewhat screwball family.
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Stolen Harmony
Title: Stolen Harmony
Character: Girl in Sextette (uncredited)
Released: April 20, 1935
Type: Movie
Band leader Jack Conrad is impressed by prison inmate Ray Ferrera on saxophone. Conrad hires Ray to join his band and tour upon his release. Ray hooks up with Jean, a dancer in the show, and the two become a successful dance act. However, when an ex-inmate buddy of Ray's robs the tour bus, Ray is suspected of wrongdoing by Jack and the others in the group. After a gang of thugs hijacks the tour bus, Ray tries to use his street smarts to redeem his reputation.
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Arizona Bad Man
Title: Arizona Bad Man
Character: Lucy Dunston
Released: February 1, 1935
Type: Movie
The daughter of a notorious cattle thief falls for a stranger at a dance. The stranger is really a lawman who is after her father.
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Life Returns
Title: Life Returns
Character: Nurse
Released: January 2, 1935
Type: Movie
A doctor who has spent his career working on ways to revive the dead sees his chance to prove his theory by performing his procedures on a recently deceased dog.
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The Human Side
Title: The Human Side
Character: High School Girl (uncredited)
Released: September 1, 1934
Type: Movie
The story of a theatrical producer, his divorced wife and their four children.
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Tripping Through the Tropics
Title: Tripping Through the Tropics
Character: Sally
Released: July 27, 1934
Type: Movie
Frank Albertson's father wants his son to marry Lois January, but they really are only friends. Frank watches Lois doing a hooch dance at a secret tropical ritual, and he quickly changes his mind and falls for her fleshy charms.
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Let's Talk It Over
Title: Let's Talk It Over
Character: Alice
Released: June 1, 1934
Type: Movie
A young sailor saves a woman from drowning. The woman turns out to be a rich heiress; unfortunately for the sailor, she was only pretending to be drowning so that another young man she had her eye on would save her.
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Susie's Affairs
Title: Susie's Affairs
Character: Susie's Brunette Roommate
Released: June 1, 1934
Type: Movie
Susie and her pals pretend they're society swells.
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School for Romance
Title: School for Romance
Character: Student
Released: January 31, 1934
Type: Movie
Count Romansky is a newspaper columnist who specializes in romance issues. When he loses his job, he opens up a school where he instructs his pretty pupils on affairs of the heart.
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By Candlelight
Title: By Candlelight
Character: Ann
Released: December 18, 1933
Type: Movie
A beautiful woman mistakes a Prince's butler for the Prince.
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Umpa
Title: Umpa
Character: Nurse
Released: November 24, 1933
Type: Movie
Dialogue and songs are all in rhyme (including one identical song), in the manner of later Columbia film "The Women Haters." Jack Osterman is smitten with a woman on a park bench, and cannot stop saying the word "Umpa" for the rest of the film, which involves his treatment by a doctor and his singing and dancing temptress nurses.
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Show Business
Title: Show Business
Character: Showgirl on Train (uncredited)
Released: August 20, 1932
Type: Movie
The girls and their pet monkey create havoc on board a train carrying a traveling Broadway troupe.
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Too Many Women
Title: Too Many Women
Character: Girl in White Wool Hat (uncredited)
Released: May 14, 1932
Type: Movie
College baseball player Mickey Daniels can't keep his mind on the game when he's got an eye for the ladies.