Janet Blair (born Martha Janet Lafferty; April , â€" February , ) was
a big-band singer who became a popular American film and television
actress.Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April , , in
Altoona, Pennsylvania, the daughter of musically oriented parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Fred B. Lafferty. Her father led the choir and sang solos in
his church, and her mother played both piano and organ. She had a
brother, Fred Jr., and a sister, Louise.Blair began her acting career
on film in , being placed under contract to Columbia Pictures. Before
that, she was a featured singer in the Hal Kemp Orchestra. During
World War II, she appeared as the pin-up girl in the March issue of
Yank magazine. She made a string of successful pictures, although she
is today best remembered for playing Rosalind Russell's sister in My
Sister Eileen () and Rita Hayworth's best friend in Tonight and Every
Night (). In the film The Fabulous Dorseys, Blair returned to her
musical roots, portraying a singer. In the late s, Blair had star
billing in the crime drama I Love Trouble and the comedy The Fuller
Brush Man (both ), but was dropped by Columbia and did not return to
pictures for several years.She made a rare dramatic appearance in the
British horror film Night of the Eagle (). She played the wife of Tony
Randall in the comedy Boys' Night Out, a motion picture released in
the same year, which starred James Garner and Kim Novak.
a big-band singer who became a popular American film and television
actress.Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April , , in
Altoona, Pennsylvania, the daughter of musically oriented parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Fred B. Lafferty. Her father led the choir and sang solos in
his church, and her mother played both piano and organ. She had a
brother, Fred Jr., and a sister, Louise.Blair began her acting career
on film in , being placed under contract to Columbia Pictures. Before
that, she was a featured singer in the Hal Kemp Orchestra. During
World War II, she appeared as the pin-up girl in the March issue of
Yank magazine. She made a string of successful pictures, although she
is today best remembered for playing Rosalind Russell's sister in My
Sister Eileen () and Rita Hayworth's best friend in Tonight and Every
Night (). In the film The Fabulous Dorseys, Blair returned to her
musical roots, portraying a singer. In the late s, Blair had star
billing in the crime drama I Love Trouble and the comedy The Fuller
Brush Man (both ), but was dropped by Columbia and did not return to
pictures for several years.She made a rare dramatic appearance in the
British horror film Night of the Eagle (). She played the wife of Tony
Randall in the comedy Boys' Night Out, a motion picture released in
the same year, which starred James Garner and Kim Novak.
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