Jane Withers (l.) with Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes (1934)
Child star Jane Withers, who turned 95 a few months back, died on Saturday. I'll probably always best remember her for playing opposite Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes, and getting the memorable finale, albeit it a scene that probably couldn't be made today. Withers plays such an obnoxious brat that she winds up stealing the show from Shirley, which is a pretty tough thing to do.
Withers retired at age 21 to get married, but came out of retirement to appear in Giant alongside a couple of big names in Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean as Vashti, neighbor to the couple played by Taylor and Husdon
I didn't know until hearing about her death that she also played advertising figure Josephine the Plumber in a series of ads for Comet Cleanser from 1963 to 1974. That's before I have any memory of events, which is why even though I'd heard the name Josephine the Plumber I don't think I'd actually seen any of the commercials:
1 comment:
I’m so glad you have a post about Jane Withers. I guess the last one left of the biggies is Virginia O’ Brien. Jane was a good little actress and I was always gleeful when Shirley Temple was outsmarted a bit. I do remember her commercials for comet.
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