Janet Blair, the bright, bouncy leading lady of '40s comedies, who eventually turned to the stage and television to establish her dramatic acting credentials, died on February 19 in Santa Monica, California of pneumonia. She was 85.

She was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April 23, 1921 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Her performance background included singing in school and church productions. Her career took a quick upward turn when she auditioned and landed a gig as a singer for Hal Kemp's popular swing band in 1939. Changing her name to Blair, she toured the country with Kemp until he was killed in a car accident in December 1940. Soon the musicians in Kemp's band dispersed, but Blair was spotted performing at Hollywood's famed Cocoanut Grove just shortly before the Kemp tragedy by a talent agent at Columbia pictures, and she signed a $100 a week contract and made the move into motion pictures.

She started out in small parts in a few forgettable "B" pictures: Three Girls About Town (1941) and Blondie Goes to College (1942) just to name a few, but she became a minor star when she was cast as Rosalind Russell's wacky, but endearing kid sister in My Sister Eileen (1942). Exuding breathless charm in every scene she was in, Blair showed a flair for comedy that would serve her well over the next few years: the musical Broadway (1942) co-starring George Raft; the lightweight but captivating Something to Shout About (1943) with Don Ameche; and she performed with Cary Grant in Once Upon a Time (1944). Occasionally, she was given the opportunity to stretch herself with dramatic parts: most notably in William Wellman's aviation drama Gallant Journey (1946) and The Fabulous Dorseys (1947), but overall, she was trapped in what Blair herself called "princess parts" and left films in 1948 in search of more meaningful work on stage and television.

In the early '50s, she performed in such live anthology dramas as Goodyear Television Playhouse, The United States Steel Hour and The Philco Television Playhouse and she earned solid critical evaluations when she played Nellie Forbush in the touring company of South Pacific for an impressive three year run. When she did return to films, she was cast in more mature parts in slight, airy features like Boys' Night Out (1962) and Disney's The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968). One of her best performances was in the British supernatural thriller, Burn, Witch, Burn (1962, aka Night of the Eagle), in which she played a college professor's wife whose active interest in the occult had dire consequences; it was a remake of the Lon Chaney, Jr. thriller, Weird Woman (1944). She took a stab at series television when she was cast as Henry Fonda's wife in the short-lived The Smith Family (1971-72). Blair rounded out her career making some pleasing guest appearances on a few hit shows: Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote but had remained inactive in film and television for the last 15 years. She is survived by a son, Nick; and a daughter, Amanda.

by Michael T. Toole