Born 1915 as Mary Jane Frehse in Saint Paul, Minnesota, American actress, singer, and dancer Jane Frazee landed a leading role in the B film Melody and Moonlight (1940) for Republic Pictures. Shortly after the film’s release she was signed by Universal Pictures and was featured in Buck Privates, the high-grossing 1941 comedy/World War II film starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The strong impression she made in that film elevated her to leading-lady roles in Universal’s popular “B” musicals, usually appearing opposite Robert Paige.
After World War II, most of the larger Hollywood studios curtailed their lower-budget productions and produced fewer features. This affected scores of actors, who sought refuge at the smaller studios that had been making low-budget features all along. Thus, Jane Frazee found steady if unprestigious work at Monogram Pictures and Lippert Pictures, in addition to her Republic duties.
The actress ended her screen career co-starring in short subjects produced by Warner Brothers. She died of pneumonia at the Flagship Health Center in Newport Beach, California in 1985, aged 70. Take a look at these fabulous photos to see portraits of a young Jane Frazee in the 1940s.
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