Janet Blair

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BIRTHDAY

April 23, 1921

Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA

DIED

February 19, 2007

RECENT CREDITS

Murder, She Wrote (TV) Sep. 16, 1990

The Smith Family (TV) Apr. 12, 1972

The One and Only, Genuine, Original... (FILM) Apr. 1, 1968

Burn, Witch, Burn (FILM) Mar. 10, 1962

Boys' Night Out (FILM) Jan. 1, 1962

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BIOGRAPHY

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Vivacious, honey-haired former band singer who turned to films after band leader Hal Kemp's death. Blair signed with Columbia and made her debut in "Three Girls on the Town" (1941). She gave one of her best performances as the title character, a slightly vacuous, man-attracting beauty, opposite plain-jane sister Rosalind Russell in the lively "My Sister Eileen" (1942), a romantic comedy of two sisters who move from Ohio to New York City's Greenwich Village. After a number of disappointing films and roles, Blair left film in 1948 and later had great success on stage in the touring production of "South Pacific" (1950-52). She also briefly replaced Nanette Fabray as Sid Caesar's "wife" on "Caesar's Hour" (1956-57). Blair made a handful of films in the 1950s and 60s, the best of which was the moody horror drama, "Burn, Witch, Burn/Night of the Eagle" (1962), in which she played a wife who resorts to witchcraft. She also co-starred with Henry Fonda on the short-lived TV series, "The Smith Family" (1971-72).

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