I'll always remember Jane Withers primarily as Josephine the Plumber in the Comet cleanser t.v. commercials.
About those (per Wikipedia):
By the middle 1960s, she gained recognition again [having earlier been a child star of the 1930s and early '40s, then returning to acting in the mid 1950s] as "Josephine the Plumber", a character in a long-running series of television commercials for Comet cleanser, and the veteran TV-ad pitchwoman's well-known character lasted into the 1970s, and even further in the 1980s when her niece, JoAnn or Jo, would show her customers a picture of her Aunt Josephine.
I last saw Ms. Withers (who's now 93) on a TCM round-table type interview special that late TCM host Robert Osborne conducted with multiple former child stars (including also Dickie Moore, Margaret O'Brien, and Darryl Hickman) in 2006. (I didn't see that when it originally aired, but caught a rerun of it roughly five years ago.) She seems like a warm, genuine, very upbeat, likeable person.
Wishing her well.
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Reply by Forty-1212
on September 18, 2019 at 10:56 PM
Right, when it comes to hoping that child stars would someday mind their manners and grow up, Miss Withers really takes the cake on that one.
Some S Temple fans still cannot get over the way J Withers bullies poor little orphan Shirley at the wealthy estate of her grouchy foster grandfather before sweet sunshine Shirley breaks down his grumpiness with her apple dumpling smiles, thus causing Jane to throw explosive skyrocketing tantrums.
But then Jane somehow matures when the War breaks out and works as a die-hart trooper in the much-needed plumbing industry, which causes her to become Shirley sweet in overalls and without the ringlets.
She continues her acting career long after Shirley goes into politics or something, and seems to have a lot of fun with many different types of roles. If J Withers didn't smile when she started out in film, then something must have happened along the way to mature her into the likable fun-loving, multi-talented personality into which she matures.
And maybe that something extra has to do with her time hard at work cleaning the pipes and pitching from the ladder as Josephine the Plumber.
Reply by QuitePleasant
on September 19, 2019 at 7:17 PM
Indeed, Miss Withers definitely comes across as "a warm, genuine, very upbeat, likable person" not only through her acting roles, but also via her interviews.
Sure, adults everywhere told children the world over to behave like Shirley and not like that Jane, but now the very nicest and best of adults have turned out very much like Jane--or at least some of the ladies have.
Best to Jane in good health and happiness, and please remember what she says to do any time the drains get clogged.
Reply by genplant29
on September 20, 2019 at 12:44 AM
I'm unable to recall any of Jane's specific girlhood films that I've seen, though am sure I've seen several throughout the decades. I sure do remember her Josephine the Plumber commercials though, as she was in so many of those during my growing up years.
Josephine - along with Mr. Whipple a.k.a. George the Grocer (Charmin), The Maytag Man (Maytag), and Fred the Baker (Dunkin Donuts) - certainly was a very familiar face on t.v. for a long time.
Reply by QuitePleasant
on September 20, 2019 at 7:56 PM
And Madge the Manicurist (for Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid) - "You're soaking in it."
Then there were Mrs. Olson (Folger's Coffee) versus Cora, who only sells one kind (Maxwell House).
Carmelita Pope (Pam cooking spray), Ann Blyth (Hostess), Annette Funicello (Skippy Peanut Butter), the Taster's Choice Freeze-Dried Coffee romance, the Texaco Man, the Maytag Repairman, the Kibbles 'n Bits Puppies, the Beggin Strips Dog "It's Baconnnn!"
And, of course, Rula Lenska for VO5 Shampoo and Hair Conditioners - and even though nobody knew who's this Rula Lenska, Rula Lenska fan clubs would spring up from one side of the Pond to the other, to try to figure out who's this Rula Lenska.
Reply by genplant29
on September 26, 2019 at 3:58 AM
I had forgotten all about Madge, though don't know how I possibly could have!
I definitely remember Mrs. Olson, ditto Cora; also Annette in the Skippy commercials, and the others you mentioned.
By the way, to this day I never can remember which is which, regarding Skippy and JIF peanut butters.....
Yes: What was Rula Lenska famous for before the V05 commercials? Apparently she was famous for something - though we never knew exactly what.![thinking](/assets/emojis/v8/1f914.svg)
Well, here are some long-overdue answers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rula_Lenska. Rula was from the pre-internet era, when there was no easy way to find answers to such great mysteries of the universe as "Who is this Rula Lenska person?"