Lois January

Who was Lois January?

Lois January was an American actress who performed small roles in several B-movies during the 1930s.

Born in McAllen, Texas as Laura Lois January, her first credited role was in 1933, in the film UM-PA. Her most famous role, however, although she never achieved name recognition, is probably as the Emerald City manicurist in The Wizard of Oz who sings to Dorothy that "we can make a dimpled smile out of a frown" and, later in the same film, as the woman holding a cat which causes Toto to jump out of the hot air balloon just before it departs leaving Dorothy apparently stranded.

January had many roles during her Hollywood career. During the 1930s she played in numerous westerns as the heroine, usually opposite Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Steele, Tim McCoy and Bob Baker, among others. In 1935 she starred opposite Reb Russell in Arizona Badman, and in 1936 she starred with Brown in Rogue of the Range, and alongside Tim McCoy in Border Cabellero. While on contract with Universal Pictures she continued to play heroine roles in westerns, and in 1937 she starred opposite Bob Baker in Courage of the West. The reissuing of the 1935 exploitation film The Pace That Kills would eventually lend January even more exposure, however limited.