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BURBANK (CNS) - Former child star Jane Withers, who made her first big splash in the movies acting opposite Shirley Temple in 1934's “Bright Eyes,'' has died at the age of 95, according to multiple reports.
Withers died Saturday evening in Burbank surrounded by loved ones, her daughter Kendall Errair said in a statement.
“My mother was such a special lady,'' Errair said, according to Deadline. “She lit up a room with her laughter, but she especially radiated joy and thankfulness when she was talking about the career she so loved and how lucky she was.''
The cause of death was not released.
Withers followed up “Bright Eyes'' with a string of other film roles throughout the 1930s and '40s before leaving the business to raise a family. She made a comeback in 1956's “Giant,'' starring James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor.
After that she worked frequently, appearing on “General Electric Theater,'' “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,'' “The Love Boat,'' “Murder, She Wrote'' and stage productions of “Mame,'' “Hello, Dolly!'' and “No, No, Nanette.''
Her notoriety further increased with a series of TV commercials for Comet cleanser in the 1960s and '70s in which she played a character called Josephine the Plumber.
Withers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
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