![]() ![]() She was complimentary of Shirley’s accomplishments as an actor, as well as her service to our country as a United States ambassador. See reviews for Mr Rooter Plumbing of Josephine & Jackson Counties in Grants Pass, OR at 2062 NW Vine St from Angi members or join today to leave your own. The two stars did not really get to know each other as children, but became friends later. She said if it had not been for Shirley Temple being the cutest, most adorable little girl in the world and they needed an opposite, “and boy I sure was it,” in “Bright Eyes,” she might have ended up selling hats in Atlanta. Upon Shirley’s death in 2014, Jane told the press that she credited her big break to Shirley. Shirley was beautiful, sweet, and loveable, while Jane portrayed a spoiled brat, Joy. If you saw that movie, you might remember that both the precious little girls appeared in grown-up dresses and hats pushing doll carriages. And horror of horrors–she even told Shirley there was no Santa Claus! Once again, I sat captivated as I watched Jane, portraying an obnoxious little girl named Joy, destroy her discarded doll in Shirley’s sight. Some years back, I responded to a television offer to purchase a set of tapes of those movies. My mother took me to see every Shirley Temple childhood film when I was a little girl. Perhaps it was because I loved Shirley Temple movies. I recognized her the very first time I saw “Josephine” appear on television advertising Comet. It was her break-through role, although she had been performing on radio in Atlanta since the age of three. I wonder how many people immediately recognized her as actor Jane Withers who had co-starred as a child with Shirley Temple in the movie “Bright Eyes” and stole every scene. So here’s to Jane Withers, the actress, and Josephine the Plumber, a familiar face we grew up with.Remember “Josephine the Plumber” who popped up on our television screens during the 1960s and 1970s? She was that sparkling-eyed person who told us the merits of Comet Cleanser. Now 88, she is a regular face at Hollywood functions, and boasts one of the largest doll collections in the world. The real life Jane Withers is as perky and affectuous as Josephine herself. When the sequel came out in 2002, she kept the role of Laverne. In 1996, she was chosen to finish voice-overs for Mary Wickes, who passed away before completion of Disney’s animated The Hunchback of Notre Dame. And Withers even overcame the obvious stereotyping that committing to such a role brings with it.Īfter P&G decided to end Josephine’s run, she appeared in guest shots on several TV series, including The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, and others. Always in a good mood, ready to help perturbed housewives, and full of energy, she became a cultural icon. Josephine the plumber was one of the most recognizable faces on 1960’s and 1970’s television screens. I was unable to pinpoint the exact date in the 60’s when the commercials began, perhaps a reader can help? Anyhow, the ads were a hit with the public, and, more importantly to Procter and Gamble, they sold a slew of Comet. Advertising legend Milton Gossett approached her with the idea of portraying a Rosie-the-Riveter knockoff called Josephine the Plumber in a series of ads for Comet cleanser. Jane went to work doing guest bits on TV shows after that. He left it with her to launder when he took off on his Porsche ride to immortality. She became fast friends with James Dean, who trusted her to wash his favorite cowboy shirt. Her break ended with a supporting role in the 1956 blockbuster Giant. Instead, she took a hiatus when she was married in 1947. She kept making movies as a teenager in the 1940’s, and seemed capable of breaking out of the child star stereotype that so few were able to overcome. She ranked her own “name” costars, like Gene Autry and the Ritz Brothers. It worked, and she was a Top 10 box office draw for three straight years, 1937-39. Fox signed her to a long-term contract.Ī long string of films followed, and Jane was generally cast as a more mischievous version of Shirley Temple, with the sugary sweetness cut in half. ![]() It was the break she needed to showcase her talent. In 1934, she played obnoxious Joy Smythe in Shirley Temple’s film Bright Eyes. Her parents soon moved to Hollywood, and she was able to get work as a child actress doing bit parts. The daughter of an actress, she was a precocious talent who made it onto a local Atlanta radio show as “Dixie’s Dainty Dewdrop.” She would sing and do impressions of adult celebrities. Josephine the plumber was portrayed by actress Jane Withers. Today, we nudge back into existence a cute, perky, helpful female plumber named Josephine. Familiar faces soon placed themselves permanently in our memory banks, requiring only a slight nudge to be brought back to life in our imaginations. We Boomer kids watched a bunch of television.
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