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Janis Carter

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Janis Carter
Carter in 1940s
Born
Janis Elinore Dremann

(1913-10-10)October 10, 1913
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJuly 30, 1994(1994-07-30) (aged 80)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma materWestern Reserve University
Years active1937–1956
Spouses
Carl Prager
​
​
(m. 1942; div. 1951)​
Julius Stulman
​
(m. 1956)​

Janis Carter (born Janis Elinore Dremann, October 10, 1913 – July 30, 1994) was an American stage and film actress who performed throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s. During the mid-1950s, she began working regularly on television, co-hosting with Bud Collyer the NBC daytime game show Feather Your Nest.[1]

Early years

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Pin-up photo of Carter for Yank, the Army Weekly in 1945

Carter was born Janis Elinore Dremann[2] in Cleveland, Ohio.[3] When she started her professional career, Dremann changed her last name to Carter, because people had trouble pronouncing and spelling Dremann, so she chose her grandmother's maiden name as her new last name.[4]

After initial training as a pianist, Carter changed to singing when she was eight years old. Her elementary and secondary education was provided by schools in East Cleveland, Ohio. After that, she attended Cleveland's Flora Stone Mather College[5] at Western Reserve University, graduating with two degrees – bachelor of arts and bachelor of music. She also participated in dramatics in college.[4]

Career

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Carter (left), Janet Blair and Franchot Tone in I Love Trouble (1948)

After graduating from college, Carter headed to New York in an attempt to start a career in opera. Although that goal was unsuccessful, she then worked on Broadway, where she was spotted on stage by Darryl F. Zanuck, who signed her to a movie deal. Her Broadway credits included Du Barry Was a Lady (1939), Virginia (1937),[6] and Panama Hattie (1940).[7]

After moving to Hollywood, she appeared in over 30 films beginning in 1941 for 20th Century Fox, MGM, Columbia, and RKO. She appeared in the films Night Editor (1946) and Framed (1947) with Glenn Ford, and Flying Leathernecks (1951) with John Wayne. After leaving Los Angeles, Carter returned to New York and found work in television in comedies and dramas and as hostess for the quiz show Feather Your Nest opposite Bud Collyer.[8][9] Her last role was in a January 1955 episode of The Elgin Hour.

Personal life and death

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Carter married Carl Prager, a musician and composer, in 1942, but they divorced nine years later. She retired from acting in early 1955, after meeting New York lumber and shipping tycoon Julius Stulman; the couple married in 1956.[3] Carter died in 1994, at age 80, from a heart attack in Durham, North Carolina.[10]

Partial filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Janis Carter; Actress Hosted TV Quiz Show", obituary, Los Angeles Times, August 4, 1994, p. A16. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan; subscription access through the University of North Carolina Library at Chapel Hill.
  2. ^ Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2. Retrieved 29 June 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b Vallance, Tom (5 August 1994). "Obituary: Janis Carter". The Independent. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Sings 'Easter tidings'". The Post-Standard. April 7, 1946. p. 31. Retrieved June 29, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Rose, William Ganson (August 27, 1990). Cleveland: The Making of a City. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8733-8428-5 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "("Janis Carter" search results)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  7. ^ Morehouse, Ward. "Broadway After Dark." New York Sun, 14 February 1941. (Janis Joyce replacing Carter, "who's gone to Hollywood.")
  8. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  9. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (2008). "Movies - The New York Times". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  10. ^ "Janis Carter, 80, Actress and TV Host". The New York Times. 1994-08-02. Archived from the original on 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
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