HAPPY BIRTHDAY,  ELSIE JANIS (March 16, 1889 - February 26, 1956)

A true Renaissance woman in her era, she sang, wrote songs and screenplays, acted and entertained the troops during World War I.   At age 11 she was a headliner on the vaudeville circuit, performing under the name "Little Elsie". As she matured she began perfecting her comedic skills.

She was a tireless advocate for British and American soldiers fighting in World  War I, raised funds for Liberty Bonds and took her act on the road, entertaining troops stationed near the front lines--one of the first popular American artists to do so in a war fought on foreign soil. She was immortalized as the "sweetheart of the AEF" (American Expeditionary Force).
Following the war, she maintained her commitment to the fighting men to whom she had become so attached.  Charles Dillingham agreed to produced Elsie Janis and Her Gang, a revue which Janis created for returned out-of-work soldiers, some of whom she had entertained during the war.  The period following the war was difficult for her. She wrote, in her autobiography, "The war was my high spot and I think there is only one real peak in each life!" (Janis, Elsie. So Far, So Good! An Autobiography. New York, E.P. Dutton and Co. 1932).

In Hollywood, aside from film credits as a screenwriter, she and director Edmund Goulding wrote the song, "Love, Your Magic Spell is Everywhere" for Gloria Swanson's talkie debut.  Her song "Oh, Give Me Time For Tenderness" was featured in Dark Victory starring Bette Davis.

She returned to London and Paris periodically through the 1920s for It's All Wrong which she wrote, directed and acted in, and a revue--Elsie Janis At Home. As her stage appearances became less frequent, she continued writing and songwriting, and moved into production supervision with such shows as New Faces of 1934. Her final Broadway appearance was Frank Fay's Show in 1939 with Eva Le Gallienne, whom, as a young actress, Ms. Janis had mentored.