Veteran actress Janet Fox, Edna Ferber's niece, who appeared in George S. Kaufman and Ferber's original Dinner at Eight on Broadway, died in Palm Beach, FL April 22 at the age of 89, according to friends.
Ms. Fox made her Broadway debut in 1932 as Tina, the conniving maid in the Kaufman-Ferber comedy Dinner at Eight. She played Nurse Preen in USO tours of the Kaufman-Hart comedy, The Man Who Came to Dinner, with playwright Moss Hart in the title role of Sheridan Whiteside. She went on to recreate the role of the bedpan-wielding nurse in the 1969 musical version, Sherry! which starred Clive Revill and Dolores Grey.
Ms. Fox's other Broadway credits include Between Two Worlds (1934), Fools Rush In (1934), Cross Ruff (1935), Life's Too Short (1935), Tomorrow's a Holiday! (1935), Kaufman and Ferber's Stage Door (1936), Having Wonderful Time (1937), Kaufman and Hart's The American Way (1939), Rodgers and Hart's 1940 musical Higher and Higher, 1941's Two Story House, Kaufman and Ferber's Bravo, Lindsay and Crouse's 1959 hit, Tall Story, The Tattooed Countess (1961) and Once for the Asking (1963).
Ms. Fox toured with George Hamilton, Susan Watson and Jan McArt in Gigi and was a frequent player at the Bucks County Playhouse where she replaced for Eileen Heckart as Dolly Levi in The Matchmaker with one week's notice. She appeared in the 1940 film, "They Knew What They Wanted," starring Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard and portrayed her aunt, the playwright and novelist Edna Ferber ("Show Boat") in the 1963 film version of Moss Hart's autobiography, "Act One."
She performed extensively on both radio and television. She had recurring roles on the Phil Silvers "Sgt. Bilko" show and the first television soap opera, "Valiant Lady," which was broadcast live. Ms. Fox appeared in scores of commercials as well as hour-length plays for "Studio One," "The Alcoa Hour" and "The Steel Hour." She is survived by her husband, publisher Henry Goldsmith, daughter, playwright and author Julie Gilbert Daniel and son-in law, film sound engineer and architectural acoustician, Francis Daniel.
Ms. Fox, who spent her latter years in Palm Beach and Shelter Island. A memorial will be held in Palm Beach May 12. Donations to The Actors' Fund are suggested.
