We Boomer kids watched a bunch of television. Familiar faces soon placed themselves permanently in our memory banks, requiring only a slight nudge to be brought back to life in our imaginations. Today, we nudge back into existence a cute, perky, helpful female plumber named Josephine.
Josephine the plumber was portrayed by actress Jane Withers. She was born in 1926 in Atlanta. The daughter of an actress, she was a precocious talent who made it onto a local Atlanta radio show as "Dixie's Dainty Dewdrop." She would sing and do impressions of adult celebrities. Her parents soon moved to Hollywood, and she was able to get work as a child actress doing bit parts.
In 1934, she played obnoxious Joy Smythe in Shirley Temple's film Bright Eyes. It was the break she needed to showcase her talent. Fox signed her to a long-term contract.
A long string of films followed, and Jane was generally cast as a more mischievous version of Shirley Temple, with the sugary sweetness cut in half. It worked, and she was a Top 10 box office draw for three straight years, 1937-39. She ranked her own "name" costars, like Gene Autry and the Ritz Brothers.
She kept making movies as a teenager in the 1940's, and seemed capable of breaking out of the child star stereotype that so few were able to overcome. Instead, she took a hiatus when she was married in 1947.
Her break ended with a supporting role in the 1956 blockbuster Giant. She became fast friends with James Dean, who trusted her to wash his favorite cowboy shirt. He left it with her to launder when he took off on his Porsche ride to immortality. She still has it.
Jane went to work doing guest bits on TV shows after that. Advertising legend Milton Gossett approached her with the idea of portraying a Rosie-the-Riveter knockoff called Josephine the Plumber in a series of ads for Comet cleanser. I was unable to pinpoint the exact date in the 60's when the commercials began, perhaps a reader can help? Anyhow, the ads were a hit with the public, and, more importantly to Procter and Gamble, they sold a slew of Comet.
Josephine the plumber was one of the most recognizable faces on 1960's and 1970's television screens. Always in a good mood, ready to help perturbed housewives, and full of energy, she became a cultural icon. And Withers even overcame the obvious stereotyping that committing to such a role brings with it.
After P&G decided to end Josephine's run, she appeared in guest shots on several TV series, including The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, and others.
In 1996, she was chosen to finish voice-overs for Mary Wickes, who passed away before completion of Disney's animated The Hunchback of Notre Dame. When the sequel came out in 2002, she kept the role of Laverne.
The real life Jane Withers is as perky and affectuous as Josephine herself. Now 88, she is a regular face at Hollywood functions, and boasts one of the largest doll collections in the world.
So here's to Jane Withers, the actress, and Josephine the Plumber, a familiar face we grew up with.
Comments (3)
Josephine the plumber
is a small part of the universe of TV pitchmen
who are characters in their own right. Some
actors indeed made a decent living solely portraying a single character over the years. Others would include the Charmin-squeezing Mr. Whipple,
Madge for Palmolive(you're soaking in it),
the lonely Maytag repairman, the bald Mr. Clean(who actually predated the cool bald look 20 years ahead of schedule), The Folgers old hispanic lady, and Juan Valdez(Columbian coffee growers).
These characters fill a vacuum in today's mediated suburban culture. Now, we feel more comfort from a fictional tv "neighbor", then the actual real one next door, who we may not have even spoken with for 10 years. A continuity in the mind is established, where one is expected to mindlessly grab that product from supermarket shelves for a lifetime. Thats the reason TV jingles rarely, if ever, change. Anyone who has heard the EMPIRE carpet man in the midwest or east for the last 35 years know what I speak of. Some current tv
"neighbors" that have been going at it for a while would include Jered(real-life, but Subway has made him out in classic fictitious vein), The 800-Dentist receptionist, and, maybe greatest of all, Murray the Cop from The Odd Couple as pitchman for On-Cor frozen dinners. Again, our abject lack of real-life neighborliness has created a fictional TV world of "friends" who we actually feel a fondness for, a la The Truman Show. Hey, its a virtual world after all.....
Posted by scott | July 30, 2007 3:16 AM
Posted on July 30, 2007 03:16
And none of the old favorites have ever had a TV sitcom created for that character to wear out their welcome. Baby Bob failed, and I am guessing the new Caveman series won't last the season.
Also remember Mother Nature (Dena Dietrich) and Rosie the waitress (Nancy Walker).
Posted by David S Paleg | July 30, 2007 12:47 PM
Posted on July 30, 2007 12:47
Josephine the Plumber certainly was a staple on our television in the sixties. It is one of the classics that has also been in Mad Magazine. I am glad to hear she is still with us! Classic Icon of the commercials!
Posted by Rivers End | June 26, 2009 8:13 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 20:13