Janis Mae Wilson (February 9, 1930 – November 17, 2003) was an American child actress of the 1940s. She is probably best known for her roles in ''

Now, Voyager ''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty. Prouty bor ...

'' and ''

Watch on the Rhine A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

'' opposite

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

as well as for the films ''

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' is a 1946 American film noir drama directed by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay written by Robert Rossen (and an uncredited Robert Riskin), based on the short story "Love Lies Bleeding" by playwright John Pat ...

'' and ''

Snafu SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression Situation normal: all fucked up. It is a well-known example of military acronym slang. It is sometimes bowdlerized to "all fouled up" or similar. It means that the s ...

''.

Career

Born in Santa Barbara,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, twelve-year-old Janis' mother had her dentist put bands on her teeth in order for her to win her first role as Tina Durrance, a little girl rejected and unloved by her mother, in the 1942 Bette Davis drama ''

''.

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

considered Wilson a “sensational discovery” and due to her fondness for the young actress, Davis persuaded the studio to cast her as her daughter in her next film ''

''. Wilson starred in just five more films before retiring at age 18 after appearing in the 1948 horror film '' The Creeper''.

Personal life

Wilson initially met her future husband Sidney Victor Petertyl on the Warner Bros. lot in 1942 when she was just twelve years old and filming ''Now, Voyager''. They were married in Santa Barbara in 1955 when Janis was 25. The Petertyls had one son and eventually settled in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

where they lived for 31 years. The family later moved to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

in 1994. In 1996, Wilson stated that she was working on a book about her years as a child actress in Hollywood and her special relationship with Bette Davis. Wilson died of a stroke in Spokane on November 17, 2003.

Filmography (selection)

* '' The Creeper'' (1948) as Nora Cavigny * ''Heading For Heaven'' (1947) as Janie Elkins * ''

'' (1946) as Martha (as a child) * ''

My Reputation ''My Reputation'' is a 1946 American romantic drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Barbara Stanwyck portrays an upper-class widow whose romance with an army officer causes trouble for her gossiping friends, domineering mother and young sons. C ...

'' (1946) as Penny Boardman * ''

Snafu (film) ''Snafu'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Jack Moss and written by Louis Solomon and Harold Buchman. It is based on the 1944 play ''Snafu'' by Louis Solomon and Harold Buchman. The film stars Robert Benchley, Barbara Jo Allen, Conrad J ...

'' (1945) as Kate Hereford * ''

'' (1943) as Babette * ''

'' (1942) as Tina Durrance (uncredited)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Janis 20th-century American actresses American child actresses 1930 births 2003 deaths 21st-century American women Actors from Santa Barbara, California