Janis Paige, a celebrated Hollywood and Broadway actress, passed away at 101 in her Los Angeles home on Sunday due to natural causes, as confirmed by her long-time friend Stuart Lampert.
Paige’s career spanned several decades, during which she performed alongside notable figures like Fred Astaire, with whom she starred in the 1957 film Silk Stockings.
Her Broadway debut was in the 1951 mystery comedy Remains To Be Seen, and she later starred in the hit musical The Pajama Game.
Paige was known for her role in Silk Stockings, where she and Astaire humorously addressed contemporary film gimmicks in the song “Stereophonic Sound.”
Throughout the 1960s, Paige continued to shine in various films, including the Bob Hope comedy Bachelor In Paradise, the Doris Day film Please Don’t Eat The Daisies, and the Richard Thorpe movie Follow The Boys.
She brought glamour to Hope’s Christmas visits to US troops and performed in clubs with legends like Sammy Davis Jr. and Perry Como.
In 1968, she succeeded Angela Lansbury in the Broadway production of Mame and continued to tour with several other shows.
Paige’s final Broadway appearance was in 1984 with Alone Together. After a lengthy hiatus, she returned to the stage in 2003 with her show The Third Act, sharing stories and songs from her illustrious career.
In 2018, she joined the MeToo movement by publicly recounting an assault she experienced at 22. Born Donna May Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, she adopted her grandfather’s name, Paige, and drew her first name from Elsie Janis.
Paige’s personal life included three marriages, the longest to songwriter Ray Gilbert, with whom she managed a music company until his death in 1976.
