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Elsie Janis(1889-1956)

  • Writer
  • Actress
  • Production Manager
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Elsie Janis
Actress, songwriter ("Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere"), production supervisor and author. She performed in vaudeville as a child (known onstage as "Little Elsie") and appeared in the Broadway musicals "The Vanderbilt Cup", "The Hoyden", "The Fair Co-ed", "The Slim Princess", and "The Lady of the Slipper". She was a charter member of ASCAP in 1914 and made her London debut the same year, and was the first American to entertain the Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War I. She wrote and produced the musical "Elsie Janis and Her Gang", with ex-servicemen. She starred in 6 silent films from 1915-1919. After making her Paris debut in 1921, she gave concerts in the USA from 1923 into 1925, eventually re-entering the film industry. Her chief musical collaborators included Jerome Kern and Edmund Goulding, and her other popular-song compositions include "Any Time's the Time to Fall in Love", "I'm True to the Navy Now", "Live and Love Today", "Molly-O-Mine", "From the Valley", "Your Eyes", "Some Sort of Somebody", "Oh, Give Me Time for Tenderness", and "A Little Love".
BornMarch 16, 1889
DiedFebruary 26, 1956(66)
BornMarch 16, 1889
DiedFebruary 26, 1956(66)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Photos8

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Known for

Betty in Search of a Thrill (1915)
Betty in Search of a Thrill
6.5
  • Writer
  • 1915
Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump
8.8
  • Soundtrack("Paramount Newsreel Music")
  • 1994
Elsie Janis in A Regular Girl (1919)
A Regular Girl
5.6
  • Elizabeth Schuyler
  • 1919
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator (2004)
The Aviator
7.5
  • Soundtrack("Paramount on Parade")
  • 2004

Credits

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IMDbPro

Writer



  • Warner Baxter in The Squaw Man (1931)
    The Squaw Man
    6.3
    • dialogue by
    • 1931
  • Reaching for the Moon (1930)
    Reaching for the Moon
    5.4
    • additional dialogue
    • 1930
  • Madam Satan (1930)
    Madam Satan
    6.3
    • by
    • 1930
  • Nancy Carroll and Charles 'Buddy' Rogers in Close Harmony (1929)
    Close Harmony
    5.8
    • story
    • 1929
  • Colleen Moore in Oh Kay! (1928)
    Oh Kay!
    6.4
    • adaptation
    • 1928
  • The Imp (1919)
    The Imp
    • story
    • 1919
  • Elsie Janis in 'Twas Ever Thus (1915)
    'Twas Ever Thus
    • story
    • 1915
  • Nearly a Lady (1915)
    Nearly a Lady
    • story
    • 1915
  • Betty in Search of a Thrill (1915)
    Betty in Search of a Thrill
    6.5
    • scenario
    • story
    • 1915
  • Elsie Janis in The Caprices of Kitty (1915)
    The Caprices of Kitty
    • Writer
    • 1915

Actress



  • Wendy Barrie and Elsie Janis in Women in War (1940)
    Women in War
    5.8
    • Matron O'Neil, formerly Mrs. Starr
    • 1940
  • Elsie Janis in A Regular Girl (1919)
    A Regular Girl
    5.6
    • Elizabeth Schuyler
    • 1919
  • The Imp (1919)
    The Imp
    • Jane Morgan
    • 1919
  • Elsie Janis in 'Twas Ever Thus (1915)
    'Twas Ever Thus
    • Lithesome
    • Prudence Alden
    • Marian Gordon
    • 1915
  • Nearly a Lady (1915)
    Nearly a Lady
    • Frederica Calhoun
    • 1915
  • Betty in Search of a Thrill (1915)
    Betty in Search of a Thrill
    6.5
    • Betty
    • 1915
  • Elsie Janis in The Caprices of Kitty (1915)
    The Caprices of Kitty
    • Katherine Bradley (Kitty)
    • 1915

Production Manager



  • Paramount op parade (1930)
    Paramount op parade
    • production manager
    • 1930
  • Nancy Carroll in Paramount on Parade (1930)
    Paramount on Parade
    5.6
    • production supervisor
    • 1930

Personal details

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  • Born
    • March 16, 1889
    • Columbus, Ohio, USA
  • Died
    • February 26, 1956
    • Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Spouse
    • Gilbert WilsonDecember 31, 1931 - ? (separated)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 8 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Co-wrote with Jack King the song "I'm True To The Navy" sung by Clara Bow in "Paramount On Parade" (1930).
  • Quotes
    Mother had been quite a good friend of Mrs. William McKinley during the time that she was the Governor's Lady in Ohio. The fact that she had become the First Lady of the land did not affect her memory, and so we were 'bidden' to the White House. Once inside any house, irrespective of color, there was no escape from my precocity. I recited and sang for the president and his charming chatelaine in the Blue Room! I sang, 'Break the News to Mother'. The president, suiting his action to the lyric, told mine that I was predestined to be a star, and kissed me on the brow. I turned to Mother and said,'You kiss me too. I may never be kissed in the White House again'.
  • Nickname
    • Little Elsie

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