Janis Paige: Hollywood and Broadway star who worked alongside Fred Astaire and Bob Hope dies aged 101

A part of Hollywood’s golden age has died aged 101.

Stuart Lampard, a long-time friend of Janis Paige, confirmed her death. She passed away on Sunday, June 2 at her home in Los Angeles.

The actress, who was born in Tacoma, Washington as Donna May Tjaden, worked with some of the all-time Hollywood greats during her esteemed career in the film and stage industry. This included performing and dancing alongside Fred Astaire in the 1957 movie-musical Silk Stockings.

In the film, Paige and Astaire take on a Cole Porter number titled ‘Stereophonic Sound, in which both her and Astaire display a range of complex and impressive dance stunts including swinging from a chandelier. In 2016, she told the Miami Herald: "I was one mass of bruises. I didn't know how to fall. I didn't know how to get down on a table - I didn't know how to save myself because I was never a classic dancer.”

Her other film credits included Please Don’t East The Daisies alongside Doris Day and Bachelor In Paradise opposite Bob Hope, who she would later join on tour overseas to entertain American troops. She joined tours in stations such as Vietnam.

She was also a star of the stage, launching her Broadway career in the 1957 mystery comedy Remains To Be Seen alongside Jackie Cooper. One of her most prominent roles on the Broadway stage would some in 1954 when she appeared opposite John Raitt in the popular stage production of The Pajama Game. Her last Broadway appearance came in 1984’s Alone Together.

Paige was also a talented singer. She performed in club with some of music’s most legendary names including Sammy Davis Jr and Perry Como.

In 2018, she spoke out about her experiences in the industry amid the rise of the #MeToo movement. She alleged that department store mogul Alfred Bloomingdale assaulted her at the age of 22. She said: "At 95, time is not on my side, and neither is silence. I simply want to add my name and say, 'Me too'."

Paige also had three marriages throughout her life, to restaurateur Frank Martinelli and writer Arthur Stander. Her third came in 1962 when she married songwriter Ray Gilbert. Gilbert, who won an Oscar for his song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Da from the Disney film Song Of The South, died in 1976.