Six Degrees of
Fun Facts . . .
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| TV Guide promo for "Kill Oscar" |
"Kill
Oscar Part II" aired on Halloween night in 1976. Janice and her twin brother, Jeff, were born on Halloween (Oct.
31st).
John Houseman, Dr. Franklin in the
Kill Oscar trilogy, was a close friend of George Balanchine's. George Balanchine was the director of The School of American
Ballet, where Janice studied ballet. She remembers having some great conversations with John Houseman concerning "Mr.
B"!
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| Marin May as Katie Maxwel in "V: The Final Battle" |
A five year old Marin May appeared
on "V", the 1983 mini-series created by Kenneth Johnson. Kenneth Johnson also created
"The Bionic Woman" and served as writer, director and showrunner for three seasons
on "The Six Million Dollar Man". Janice, along with close friend and TV-writer
Jayne Martin (Marin's Godmother), was instrumental in helping raise Marin.
Marin's mom is actress Angela
May, who along with Janice, studied acting with Charles Conrad.
On "V", Marin's onscreen mother was played by actress Penelope Windust. Penelope previously guest starred on another fan favorite,
two part episode of "The Six Million Dollar Man" entitled "The
Secret of Bigfoot" as geologist, Marlene Bekey (also written and produced by Kenneth Johnson).
Marin May's character on "V"
was named Katie, as was Janice's Fembot #1.
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| Nancy Bleier as the fembot Gina in "Fembots in Las Vegas" |
One of Janice’s friends and co-stars
in the “Happy Hooker Goes to Washington”, Nancy Bleier, played fembot Gina in the
sequel to the Kill Oscar trilogy, "Fembots in Las Vegas”. Nancy Bleier also studied
acting with Charles Conrad.
Joey Heatherton, the star of the “Happy Hooker
Goes to Washington” hosted "Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers" in 1968.
Janice joined the Golddiggers in 1970. Joey Heatherton toured Vietnam with Bob Hope and Janice toured Vietnam with
Bob Hope in 1970. Ms Heatherton studied ballet with George Balanchine, as did Janice.
Jaime Sommers
on "The Bionic Woman" was a tennis pro. Janice played a tennis pro in the "Happy Hooker goes to Washington".
Contrary to the popular belief that Katy's sweating during the prologue of "Kill
Oscar" was either a blooper or a set malfunction, it was intentional.
It
was the production's decision to have Katy sweat (along with the other characters in the scene). This allowed Katy
to appear more like a real person to viewers, before Dr. Franklin pulls her face off, exposing her as a fembot.
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| Stephanie Epper on the set of "Kill Oscar" |
Janice
Whitby did not portray the faceless fembot Katy
during the grudge match scene against Jaime Sommers in Callahan's apartment. In "Kill Oscar" Janice's stunt double,
Stephanie Epper, stepped in to perform the action sequences. (Stephanie is part of the Epper family, all well respected stunt performers)
Janice did however perform
her own stunt fight with Steve Austin (Lee Majors) in "Kill Oscar Part II". In spite of invaluable direction from the stunt coordinator, Janice did injure her hip smashing onto that
metal table.
According to "THE
BIONIC BOOK" written by Herbie J Pilato, "The Bionic Woman" creator and
producer, Kenneth Johnson was distressed upon learning that the fembots in the "Kill Oscar"
trilogy frightened younger viewers.
injaynesworld.com
Check out Jayne Martin's latest writing . . .
The Stop on by Cafe
. . . a fun website (also created by Jayne Martin) where "Pearl" dishes out homemade pie
and homespun advice.
Nancy Bleier photo from "Fembots in Las Vegas" courtesy of The Bionice Wiki.
