Jane Kean

Lovely, vivacious, honey-blonde entertainer Jane Kean enjoyed a lengthy career spanning over six decades encompassing vaudeville, radio, Broadway, nightclubs, Las Vegas showrooms, TV variety and the occasional film. Born April 10, 1923, in Hartford, Connecticut, Jane's parents split up while she was fairly young and her mother, prodding her daughters into the performing arts, moved the family to New York to test the waters. Her elder sister, Betty Kean (1914-1986), moved quickly and successfully into show business and Jane followed suit. Beginning her career on the professional stage with a role in "Hi Ya, Gentlemen!" at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, she made her film debut in the Republic musical Sailors on Leave (1941) starring William Lundigan and Shirley Ross and was also featured in the film Flying with Music (1942) before focusing strongly on the live stage. She took her first Broadway curtain call in the Fats Waller musical "Early to Bed" with actor/producer Richard Kollmar i