Mary Eilene Janssen (born May 25, 1938) is an American retired film and television actress.

Eilene Janssen
Born (1938-05-25) May 25, 1938 (age 86)
OccupationFilm actress
Years active1940-1968
Spouses
Harry Ronald Rothschild
(m. 1957; div. 1962)
Thomas Alexander Orchard
(m. 1963; div. 1966)
George Ellis Moore
(m. 1968; died 2000)
Children5

Early life

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Eilene Janssen was born in Los Angeles, California on May 25, 1938, to Henry Janssen and Mary Ellen Thompson.[1]

Film career

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Janssen began her film career as a child actress in the early 1940s. With her father being a longtime worker for Universal Studios, Eilene Janssen made her first screen appearance in the 1940 film Sandy Gets Her Man. She continued to have bit parts in several movies such as Two Girls and a Sailor and It Happened Tomorrow. In 1944, she was awarded the title "Little Miss America".[2]

As Janssen grew older, she gained more prominent roles such as Elise in Song of Love and Peggy in The Boy with Green Hair. She and Michael Chapin were the juvenile leads in four Westerns between 1951 and 1952, all of which were directed by Philip Ford. She played Judy Dawson. As a young adult she was the female lead in the 1957 Western film Escape from Red Rock.

Apart from films, Janssen also acted in television series including The Gene Autry Show,The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, Mister Ed, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Tales of Wells Fargo, Make Room for Daddy, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Beverly Hillbillies and Perry Mason.

Janssen retired from acting in 1968. As of 2004, she is residing in Pasadena, California.

Personal life

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Janssen married Harry Ronald Rothschild on November 29, 1957. They had two children together before they divorced in 1962. She then married Thomas Alexander Orchard, in 1963. They had one child together before their 1966 divorce. Janssen married George Ellis Moore in 1968. They had two children together before he died in 2000.[3]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1940 Sandy Gets Her Man Child Uncredited
1943 Where Are Your Children? Child in day care nursery Uncredited
1944 It Happened Tomorrow Sylvia Uncredited
Two Girls and a Sailor Patsy, age 4 Uncredited
Since You Went Away Sergeant's child Uncredited
The Seventh Cross Girl in Orchard Uncredited
Till We Meet Again Yvonne Uncredited
Army Wives Young girl Uncredited
1945 Man Alive Angel Uncredited
1946 The Green Years Alison Keith as a child
Rendezvous 24 Anchaka Schmidt
Renegades Janina Jackorski Uncredited
1947 The Millerson Case Myra Minnich Uncredited
Curley Betty
The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival Betty
Driftwood Girl Uncredited
Song of Love Elise Schumann
Beyond Our Own Shirley Rogers Uncredited
1948 On Our Merry Way Peggy Thorndyke
The Bride Goes Wild Mary Uncredited
Who Killed Doc Robbin Betty
Borrowed Trouble Child
The Boy With Green Hair Peggy
Words and Music Linda, age 8 Uncredited
1951 Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas Judy Dawson
The Dakota Kid
Arizona Manhunt
1952 Wild Horse Ambush
Sally and Saint Anne Young Jeanne Uncredited
1954 About Mrs. Leslie Pixie Croffman
1956 The Search for Bridey Murphy Bridey Murphy at age 15
1957 Beginning of the End Teenager in car
Escape from Red Rock Janie Acker
1958 The Space Children Phyllis Manley
1963 Black Zoo Bride
1968 Panic in the City Information clerk (final film role)

References

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  1. ^ Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television
  2. ^ "Interview with Eilene Janssen". Western Clippings. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  3. ^ Magers, Boyd; Fitzgerald, Michael G. (July 2004). Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television Westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s. ISBN 9780786420285.

Bibliography

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  • Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 153–160. ISBN 1476613702.
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