Janet Velie (23 April 1895 – December 17, 1992)Benjamin, p. 761 was an American actress who was primarily known for her performances in Broadway musicals. She first came to prominence portraying the title roles in the musicals ''

La La Lucille ''La La Lucille'' is a musical with a book by Fred Jackson, primary lyrics by Arthur J. Jackson and Buddy DeSylva, additional lyrics by Lou Paley and Irving Caesar, and music by George Gershwin. Plot overview The plot involves a wealthy society ...

'' (1919) and '' Mary'' (1920), and then had success in the Ed Wynn music revues ''The Perfect Fool'' (1921) and ''The Grab Bag'' (1924). In 1925 she created the role of confidence woman Penelope Martin in Irving Berlin's ''

The Cocoanuts ''The Cocoanuts'' is a 1929 pre-Code Musical film, musical comedy film starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and Zeppo Marx in his first starring role). Produced for Paramount Pictures by Walter Wanger, who is not cre ...

''; a role she reprised in 1927. She was the sister of actor

Jay Velie Jay Velie (16 May 1892 – 22 April 1982) was an American actor and singer; he appeared in many Broadway shows during a career that spanned more than fifty years. He also appeared in a few film shorts. Career Velie was born in Denver, Colorado, ...

and sometimes performed in productions with him. In addition to her work in theatre, she also appeared in a few

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

Life and career

Born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Janet Velie was the sister of actor

. She began her career as a chorus girl with a stock company in her native city. She made her Broadway debut in the minor part of Miss Cassie Roll in the

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

, Guy Bolton, and P. G. Wodehouse musical ''

Oh, Lady! Lady!! ''Oh, Lady! Lady!!'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern, a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse and lyrics by Wodehouse. It was written for the Princess Theatre on Broadway, where it played in 1918 and ran for 219 performances. The story ...

''. She left that production midway through its run to take on her first leading role as Miss Harte in ''The Kiss Burglar'' (1918). She then replaced Edith Day in the lead role of Grace Douglas in the Broadway production of '' Going Up'' towards the end of its run at the Liberty Theatre; a role she continued in when the production went on national tour. In 1919 Velie had her first major success originating the title role in the Broadway musical ''

'' at Henry Miller's Theatre. This was followed by the title part in the 1920 musical '' Mary'' at the Knickerbocker Theatre. She next starred opposite Ed Wynn in his musical revue ''The Perfect Fool'' at

George M. Cohan's Theatre George M. Cohan's Theatre was a Broadway theatre at Broadway and West 43rd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was built in 1911 and demolished in 1938. History The theatre was designed by George Keister, and ope ...

in 1921–1922. In 1924 she starred in two short lived musicals on Broadway, ''Round the Town'' and ''Bye, Bye, Barbara'', before starring in another successful Ed Wynn revue, ''The Grab Bag'' in 1924–1925. In 1925 Velie originated the role of confidence woman Penelope Martin in Irving Berlin's ''

''; a role she returned to on Broadway in 1927. She next appeared as Mrs. Patricia Conway in the Joe Cook musical '' Rain or Shine''; a hit on Broadway in 1928. That same year she created the role of Daphne De Lorne in the musical ''

Three Cheers Hip hip hooray (also hippity hip hooray; ''Hooray'' may also be spelled and pronounced hoorah, hurrah, hurray etc.) is a cheer called out to express congratulation toward someone or something, in the English-speaking world and elsewhere. By a sol ...

''; another successful show which had a long run into 1929. Her final performances on Broadway was as Martha Trumbell in the musical '' Heads Up'' which opened in November 1929 and closed in March 1930. Velie appeared in a few short films, including the 1930 Vitaphone Varieties film ''The Bubble Party''.Webb, p. 86 She also portrayed Emily Braley in the 1933 short film ''Yours Sincerely''. Velie died on December 17, 1992, in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velie, Janet 1895 births 1992 deaths Actresses from Denver American musical theatre actresses 20th-century American actresses