Temple Tuesday: R.I.P., Jane Withers

Hollywood legend Jane Withers recently passed away on August 7th at the ripe old age of 95. Both she and Shirley Temple found extraordinary fame in the 1934 film “Bright Eyes” by playing polar opposites: a spoiled little brat and a spunky little ray of sunshine. Guess which one was which? It was perfect casting, and I still do wish the two had been paired together again.



“And you wanna’ know why???” One of my very favorite moments in the film.



A publicity still for “Bright Eyes” with each girl showing the dolls that they owned in the movie. Shirley’s character had a simple little doll; Jane’s character owned a very expensive Lenci doll.



Guess which one of the girls got to keep the Lenci doll when the movie was over? Sorry, Jane; Shirley kept the studio alive.



I’ve always wondered why they put fake glasses on Jane for some of the stills, as she never wore them in the movie.



The two posed for the cameras again in 1948 when Shirley returned to Fox for “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College”:



The other movie I enjoyed seeing Jane Withers in was the 1956 James Dean film, “Giant.” Here she is, sandwiched between Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor:



In the February 3, 1966 episode of “The Munsters” titled “Grandpa’s Lost Wife,” Jane played the woman from Sioux City that Grandpa had left behind.



In December 1976, the two ladies were reunited at a press luncheon held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Oh how I would love to know what they were chatting about here:



Jane was still full of personality and pizzazz!



Here they are again, posing for the cameras a number of years later. Jane’s hair definitely wins the contest for height.



The grand finale for today’s post is a vintage Comet commercial with Jane playing Josephine the plumber alongside a very young Robbie Benson. Did Jane really use Comet?



You bet she did!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.