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Lois January

Lois January

Born: 1912-10-05 • 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.

Filmography
Double Agent poster
Double Agent
1987 • Dowager
The Richard Pryor Special? poster
The Richard Pryor Special?
1977 • Older Woman
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary poster
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
1973 • Nurse
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come poster
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961 • Mrs. Dean
Three Cheers for the Girls poster
Three Cheers for the Girls
1943 • Brunette in Dressing Room (uncredited)
Courage of the West poster
Courage of the West
1937 • Beth Andrews
The Red Rope poster
The Red Rope
1937 • Betty Duncan
Moonlight on the Range poster
Moonlight on the Range
1937 • Wanda Brooks
The Trusted Outlaw poster
The Trusted Outlaw
1937 • Molly Clark
Bar-Z Bad Men poster
Bar-Z Bad Men
1937 • Beth Harvey
Lightnin' Crandall poster
Lightnin' Crandall
1937 • Sheila Shannon
No Image
The Roaming Cowboy
1937 • Jeannie Morgan
One Rainy Afternoon poster
One Rainy Afternoon
1936 • Mr. Perelin's Secretary
Rogue of the Range poster
Rogue of the Range
1936 • Stella Lamb
Lightnin' Bill Carson poster
Lightnin' Bill Carson
1936 • Dolores Costello
Border Caballero poster
Border Caballero
1936 • Goldie Harris
Skull and Crown poster
Skull and Crown
1935 • Barbara Franklin
The Pace That Kills poster
The Pace That Kills
1935 • Jane Bradford
Society Fever poster
Society Fever
1935 • Julie Prouty
Stolen Harmony poster
Stolen Harmony
1935 • Girl in Sextette (uncredited)
Arizona Bad Man poster
Arizona Bad Man
1935 • Lucy Dunston
Life Returns poster
Life Returns
1935 • Nurse
The Human Side poster
The Human Side
1934 • High School Girl (uncredited)
No Image
Tripping Through the Tropics
1934 • Sally
Susie's Affairs poster
Susie's Affairs
1934 • Susie's Brunette Roommate
Let's Talk It Over poster
Let's Talk It Over
1934 • Alice
Let’s Be Ritzy poster
Let’s Be Ritzy
1934 • Stenographer
Uncertain Lady poster
Uncertain Lady
1934 • Maid (uncredited)
School for Romance poster
School for Romance
1934 • Student
By Candlelight poster
By Candlelight
1933 • Ann
Umpa poster
Umpa
1933 • Nurse
Show Business poster
Show Business
1932 • Showgirl on Train (uncredited)
Too Many Women poster
Too Many Women
1932 • Girl in White Wool Hat (uncredited)