Janis Paige, Original 'Pajama Game' Star & 'Silk Stockings' Actress, Dies at 101

Janis Paige, the glamorous Broadway star who left her mark on TV and movies, too, died at 101 on June 2.

Her Facebook page announced, "We're very sad to report that Janis Paige died yesterday, peacefully at home in Los Angeles. She was 101 and lived a life fuller than she could have imagined. She was grateful for everything, which is why she said her memory was so good. Please keep her in your thoughts and watch her performances, read her book, tell her stories, for that is how she will live on in the minds and hearts of all, for generations to come. May her memory be for a blessing."

Paige was born September 16, 1922, in Tacoma, Washington. A leggy dancer, she sang at the Hollywood Canteen during WWII and secured a movie contract with Warner Bros. that led to her debut, in the 1944 film "Bathing Beauty," starring Red Skelton and Esther Williams.

She went on to appear in such films as "Cheyenne" (1947), "Romance on the High Seas" (1948) with Doris Day, and "Two Gals and a Guy" (1951), but was strongly attracted to the stage, leaving Hollywood for a number of years in favor of Broadway.

She experienced a big hit on Broadway with the comedy "Remains to Be Seen" in 1951 and was a sensation in the original production of "The Pajama Game" (1954). Promoting the latter, she posed for Esquire magazine wearing just a mink coat, high heels, and a swimsuit bottom, two Christmas gifts in front of her chest. The Ormond Gigli pinup is considered a classic.

Active on TV from 1949, she was the star of her own sitcom, "It's Always Jan," from 1955-1956, but was probably most famous in that medium as a sexy waitress who tempts Archie Bunker on several episodes of "All in the Family" (1976 & 1978).

Later, she recurred on "Trapper John, M.D." (1985-1986) and the daytime soap "Santa Barbara" (1990-1993).

Paige had returned to making movies with the musical "Silk Stockings" (1957), which starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Other film work included "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1960), "Bachelor in Paradise" (1961), and "The Caretakers" (1963), the latter of which offered her a rare opportunity to sink her teeth into a dramatic role.

Among Paige's many stage highlights, she was critically acclaimed replacing Angela Lansbury in "Mame" (1968-1969).

She was also an in-demand cabaret singer.

In 2017, Paige penned a dramatic #MeToo story for THR, accusing businessman Alfred Bloomingdale of having attempted to rape her decades earlier. She wrote, "Even at 95, I remember everything."

She went on to document her life and career in the 2020 memoir "Reading Between the Lines."

Paige, who gave her final stage performance in 1989, her final film performance in 1994, and her final TV performance in 2001, was married and divorced twice, and was widowed when her third husband, "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" songwriter Ray Gilbert, died in 1976.