Talk:Janet Waldo

Janet Waldo's age and appearance on I Love Lucy

In the article it states that Ms. Waldo was born in 1918 (possibly 1920) however in the I Love Lucy episode entitled "The Young Fans" (Season 1 Episode 20) Ms. Waldo looks no older then 18 or 19 years old not 34 which would be her age if she were born in 1918 or 32 if she were born in 1920. Is there anyway that someone can confirm her exact legal birth date? 141.150.98.202 01:59, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Waldo was 28 (see conversation below) and expecting a child. That is why she is wearing a heavy winter coat through the whole episode. Tgpaul58 (talk) 15:39, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Janet Waldo's Correct Birthyear and Birthplace

Per Janet Waldo herself, her correct birthyear is 1924, not 1918 (as incorrectly stated on IMDb and several other places). She was born in Yakima, Washington. We have been trying to get this erroneous information corrected both here and IMDb for months now. Unfortunately, folks here on wiki keep attempting to change it back and IMDb has not made the correction on their website yet. Thanks for helping us to correct her information once and for all. Poke-a-nose (talk) 12:14, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Is it possible for Ms. Waldo to provide a citation from a reliable source for this? It's not that I disbelieve her, or the report of what she said, but a cite from a RS would put this to bed for good.

As for IMDB, I assume you've filed a correction report with them? They've been pretty good in the past at fixing errors, although they're very slow at it. Ed Fitzgerald ^{t / c} 19:22, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

A reliable source besides her? I can paste a portion of our correspondence where she requested these changes on a different website I handle:

You have the wrong Birthplace. I was born in Yakima, Washington. Wrong birthdate: I was born Feb. 4, 1924. Bad enough, but you have me older than my big sister who is five years older than I, a violinist, and performing all over the place.

I'd rather not post her e-mail address here for privacy reasons; she requested I fix this for her on Wikipedia and IMDb since she is not too technically-savvy and because the errors on IMDb have perpetuated across the internet. And yes, the correction report was filed with IMDb a few months ago, but has yet to be updated on their site. Poke-a-nose (talk) 02:43, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, for the purposes of Wikipedia, I don't think she counts as a WP:reliable source, and citing an e-mail from her would most probably be deleted as "WP:original research". As I said, I'm doubting neither you nor her, and I have no intention of reverting to the other date and birthplace, so I'm really just trying to help you by pointing out what you're probably going to need to stop people from posting the other date and place. From your comment, I assume this has happened before, and it's likely to happen again unless it's protected by a reference from a published reliable source. Ed Fitzgerald ^{t / c} 03:19, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

I've put some hidden comments in the infobox and lede suggesting that people "PLEASE SEE TALK PAGE", so maybe that might help at bit. Ed Fitzgerald ^{t / c} 08:54, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

I just filed a correction report with IMDb. Hopefully, they will fix this error. Additionally, I got this error corrected on www.tvrage.com-VarietyPerson (talk) 15:48, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

I wonder if Wikipedia would accept old U.S. Census records as a verifiable source for a person's age? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.147.84.124 (talk) 07:33, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Per the 1920 U.S. Census, a 'Janet M. Waldo' is listed as '8 months' and living in Washington. The same Janet Waldo is also featured in the 1930 Census as being 10 with the same parents and living in Yakima, WA. So, I would think the 1918 birthdate is accurate? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.99.14.161 (talk) 21:27, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

In reality, no....... it doesn't make 1918 the accurate birth year. The information that you have found only make things more uncertain and throws a shadow of doubt over the census records. Due to these simple facts:

• If the 1920 U.S. Census record is correct (January 1920) then Janet Waldo was born in April, 1919.
• The 1930 U.S. Census record (April 1930) just gives her as being born somewhere around 1920, which is untrue according to the previous record.
• If Elizabeth Waldo was born in 1919, then both records are false.

The Plot Thickens. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Radiohist (talk • contribs) 02:17, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

Oh, c'mon - some obscure web site called "Voice Chasers" is more reliable than the U.S. Census?! 68.183.23.235 (talk) 20:55, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

It is, when the U.S. Census gets its information mixed up (or wrong, either way). Radiohist (talk) 20:58, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Wait, if she really is in the 1920 census, then there's literally no way she could have been born in 1924. And she did look a lot older than 14 in 1938, to be honest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGvcysue5kI OscarLake (talk) 07:56, 15 February 2014 (UTC)

The year (and place) of birth are disputed. As such references should be hidden or identified as disputed or updated as such until matter is resolved. And, btw, with all respect to Ms. Waldo, to simply take the word of the article's subject (especially an actress!) regarding year of birth is exceedingly naive, at best, and, as Ed Fitzgerald points out is definitely not a reliable source, Quis separabit? 00:43, 13 September 2014 (UTC)

Well, 1924 is out! This link gives 1922 as her year of birth. Her sister Elisabeth's date of birth is here. Quis separabit? 18:41, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

How come the marriage record is used as the main source here? Generally, the earliest documents are usually the most accurate ones. You know, it's actually comedic how a person can exist in 1920, yet appearently be born a few years after that, haha. Now that's what I call a real paradox. OscarLake.

@OscarLake: Actors (especially female actors) are well-known for shaving a few (or more) years off their ages. Today's technology, for better or worse, has made that incredibly difficult these days, although not impossible. Quis separabit? 22:25, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

Yes, I know that. I'm just against your decision to use the 1948 marriage as main source. What makes it stand out as opposed to the other sources? She was already well-established in Hollywood by that time; increasing the risks that she had already lowered her age for career purposes. But having looked at what I believe is the correct 1920 census, 1922 is out of the question. It is the most credible record since a baby wouldn't have any reasons change her age. Of course, it all depends on whether the information about her parents and location in the article is correct or not. I assume it is. My suggestion is that we remove 1922 and leave her birth year out with the exception of a footnote at the bottom. Either that or write that she was born in 1919/1920. OscarLake.

@OscarLake: Please remember to sign your posts (by typing ~~~~ ).

"1922 is out of the question" -- explain why, please. Besides I included the census records indicating 1920 and her own claim of 1924 in the footnotes, which I believe is sufficient. Quis separabit? 11:48, 20 September 2014 (UTC)

Because a census enumerator went over to the Waldo family in 1920 and wrote down Janet Waldo's name. So for 1922 to be her real birth year, the enumerator would have to have written down a person that wasn't even born yet. Is this really plausible? For the third time, why is the marriage record a better source than every other sources available? Why not put 1922 in the footnotes instead? Btw, sorry for not signing my posts. I'm not used to editing with my iPhone. OscarL 13:38, 20 September 2014 (UTC)

Look, I agree that the 1920 and 1930 censuses indicate 1920 (not 1919, her birthday is in February); however the marriage data and the 1940 census indicate otherwise. She fibs about her age. It's not the end of the world. I need to think about the best way to handle this. Footnotes I guess but I just don't see the urgency. At least we are getting closer to the correct year than we were before. Quis separabit? 13:42, 20 September 2014 (UTC)

Actually, here's what the 1940 census says.

Name: Jeanette Waldo

Event place: Los Angeles, California

Age: 20

Birth place: Washington

Birth year (estimated): 1920

Head: Benjamin T. Waldo 69 Vermont

Wife: Jane Waldo 58 New York

Daughter: Elizabeth Ann Waldo 21 Washington

Daughter: Jeanette Waldo 20 Washington OscarL 17:18, 22 September 2014 (UTC)

OK, so now family gravestone says 1919. The main problem with that is that her elder sister, Elisabeth Waldo, was born, by all accounts, on June 18, 1918, unless she also lied about her year of birth, which, given all we've seen, is certainly possible. However, assuming Elisabeth's date of birth is accurate as we know it, the math indicates that would mean Janet was born at 7 1/2 months, and that long only if she was conceived instantly after her sister's birth (LOL). Maybe Janet was adopted?? WEIRD, but I guess family gravestone trumps (heh-heh) all. Also January 1920 US census gives age as 8 months, which roughly comes down to April 1919, which is darned close to February 1919. Quis separabit? 05:14, 16 December 2017 (UTC)

More evidence of February 4, 1919 via ancestry.com. Thanks, Latter Day Saints. Quis separabit? 21:25, 16 December 2017 (UTC)

Glad I checked the talk page. I was curious how the wikipedia entry for a near-Yakima town of Grandview,_Washington listed her as a notable person, then found a blog transcribing a 1964 article suggesting she was born in Grandview http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-slice-of-life-of-janet-waldo.html Enough about her birthyear/place seems up in the air that I'm not inclined to change the place of birth, but maybe someone can look up the article?

syndicated column from July 14, 1964 talking about it. The picture of her with the Laura Petrie hair accompanied the article. TV KEYNOTES Janet Waldo, Franciosa Team Up By HARVEY PACK

"Born in Grandview, Washington and reared in Seattle, Janet and her mother descended on Hollywood after Janet had scored in local high school shows".

Around 1920, Grandview would have been 20x smaller than Yakima. Not sure if Yakima would have been the location of a hospital or Grandview could have just been easier to tell a 1960s reporter than Yakima. Jwfowble (talk) 07:10, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

"Filmography" - Doctor Christian

It lists her as appearing only in a single episode - false. For example, she also played Judy Price in "Two Loves Had Marian", which is listed as having aired 07/03/1946. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.183.23.235 (talk) 20:35, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

question transferring from Pearl Slaghoople talk page

Pearl Slaghoople is an animated character on The Flintstones original show (is Wilma's mother). In looking for episodes where this character was voiced by Janet Wsldo on that show, I find that Janet Waldo also did some other voices there, and there is a discrepancy regarding just what episodes of that show had Janet Waldo. Carlm0404 (talk) 20:03, 26 July 2020 (UTC)