Lois January

Known for ActingBorn 1912-10-05Died 2006-08-07McAllen, 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.Read more

Movies & web series

The Roaming Cowboy

Let’s Be Ritzy

Let's Talk It Over

Tripping Through the Tropics

The Human Side

Uncertain Lady

Too Many Women

Courage of the West

Moonlight on the Range

Stolen Harmony

My Darling Daughters' Anniversary

The Richard Pryor Special?

The Trusted Outlaw

Lightnin' Bill Carson

Society Fever

Marcus Welby, M.D.

My Three Sons

Father Knows Best

Three Cheers for the Girls

The Red Rope

Arizona Bad Man

Susie's Affairs

Show Business

Border Caballero

Double Agent

Skull and Crown

By Candlelight

Rogue of the Range

One Rainy Afternoon

Life Returns

The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come

Bar-Z Bad Men

School for Romance

Umpa

Lightnin' Crandall

The Pace That Kills