Lois January

Lois January (October 5, 1913 – August 7, 2006) was an American actress and singer who performed small roles in several B-movies during the 1930s. Early life Born in McAllen, Texas, as Laura Lois January, she "was prodded into show business by her mother, whom Lois described as '"pushy.'" Her father, Charles, competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics. January attended Virgil Junior High School and the Marlborough School for girls. She also studied dance at the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts and acted in stage productions in Los Angeles. Career January's first credited role was in 1933, in the short subject 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 Bad Man, 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.