Jane Withers is a legendary actress. Even during her time, she was a formidable actress. While many don’t know the name, some may recognize her voice. Some may recognize the voice actress as Laverne from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
Jane Withers Dead at 95
According to her daughter Kendall Errair, Jane Withers passed peacefully. She was surrounded by family. “My mother was such a special lady. She lit up a room with her laughter, but she especially radiated joy and thankfulness when talking about the career she so loved and how lucky she was.” Her cause of death was not immediately shared.
As a voice actress for Laverne, the actress made appearances many times. While she has reprised the role a few times, she got her start many moons ago. Since 1932, she has had countless screen time. Her first role was in a movie called Handle with Care (1932). And her credits included small roles in popular shows like The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote. Surprisingly, Jane Withers spent less than a decade between working roles. Her breakout role was actually in a Shirley Temple movie called Bright Eyes. If you know the movie, she was the older girl being mean to ST’s character.
Jane Withers had initially retired sometime during the 40s. She had cited her fading child star career as the reason. But a role with James Dean would put her back in the spotlight. She is also one of the only actresses from her time to claim 71 acting credits. From a cinephile standpoint, that is fairly impressive. For her work, she earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Check out her IMDB and see where you may recognize her from.
Our condolences go to her family during this time.
Have you seen any of Jane Withers’ movies? Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!