Q: What happened to Jane Withers, a former Atlantan?
-- R.L. Turner, Atlanta
A: The child star in the 1930s and 1940s, who performed as "Dixie's Dainty Dewdrop" in a radio program in Atlanta when she was 4, now is 84 and lives in Los Angeles. Withers told the Los Angeles Daily News in a story that ran earlier this month that she spends a few days a week with friends "haunting local bookstores and thrift shops." Withers, who uses a walker, often is recognized during those trips or other outings for her roles in movies and as Josephine the Plumber in Comet commercials during the 1960s and 1970s. "I was in the dentist's office the other day when a woman asked if I was Jane Withers. When I told her yes, she started crying. Imagine that," she told the paper. "It's like I'm an old friend people haven't seen in a while." Withers also was in the 1956 film "Giant" and more recently created the voice of a gargoyle named Laverne in Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and its 2002 sequel. She said her greatest role, though, was being a full-time mom to her five children. She told the paper that she would like to see her famous 8,000-doll collection, which is in storage, displayed around the U.S. for children to enjoy.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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