Mary Eilene Janssen (born May 25, 1938) is an American retired film and television actress.
Early life Eilene Janssen was born in Los Angeles, California on May 25, 1938, to Henry Janssen and Mary Ellen Thompson.Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television
Film career Janssen began her film career as a child actress in the early 1940s. With her father being a longtime employee of Universal Pictures, she 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".
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 was living in Pasadena, California.
Personal life Janssen married Harry Ronald Rothschild on November 29, 1957. They had two children together before they divorced in 1962. She 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. Moore died in 2000.
Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes1940Sandy Gets Her ManChildUncredited1943Where Are Your Children?Child in day care nurseryUncredited1944It Happened TomorrowSylviaUncreditedTwo Girls and a SailorPatsy, age 4UncreditedSince You Went AwaySergeant's childUncreditedThe Seventh CrossGirl in OrchardUncreditedTill We Meet AgainYvonneUncreditedArmy WivesYoung girlUncredited1945Man AliveAngelUncredited1946The Green YearsAlison Keith as a childRendezvous 24Anchaka SchmidtRenegadesJanina JackorskiUncredited1947The Millerson CaseMyra MinnichUncreditedCurleyBettyThe Hal Roach Comedy CarnivalBettyDriftwoodGirlUncreditedSong of LoveElise SchumannBeyond Our OwnShirley RogersUncredited1948On Our Merry WayPeggy ThorndykeThe Bride Goes WildMaryUncreditedWho Killed Doc RobbinBettyBorrowed TroubleChildThe Boy With Green HairPeggyWords and MusicLinda, age 8Uncredited1951Buckaroo Sheriff of TexasJudy DawsonThe Dakota KidArizona Manhunt1952Wild Horse AmbushSally and Saint AnneYoung JeanneUncredited1954About Mrs. LesliePixie Croffman1956The Search for Bridey MurphyBridey Murphy at age 151957Beginning of the EndTeenager in carEscape from Red RockJanie Acker1958The Space ChildrenPhyllis Manley1962 Perry Mason Maureen Franklin1963Black ZooBride1968Panic in the CityInformation clerk(final film role)
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