{{Short description|Canadian actress (1899–1984)}} {{Use Canadian English |date=August 2025}} {{Infobox person |birth_place=London, Ontario, Canada |birth_date=April 17, 1899 |death_date={{death_date_and_age|1984|4|14|1899|4|17}} |death_place= Toronto, Ontario, Canada |occupation=actor }}

'''Jane Mallett''', nee '''Jean Dawson Keenleyside''' (April 17, 1899 &ndash; April 14, 1984) was a Canadian actress.<ref name="obit"/> Mallett began her career in the 1920s in live theatre, and adapted to radio, television and film during her career. She was a dependable, well-known, well-liked character actor. She had "a pronounced gift for comedy."{{sfn|Benson|Conolly|1989|page=322}}

==Career== Mallett was born on April 17, 1899 in London, Ontario, Canada, the oldest of eight children.<ref name="obit"/> She grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan and then studied at Victoria College at the University of Toronto. In 1926, she married Frederick Mallett.{{sfn |Benson |Conolly |1989 |page=322}}

Mallett began her career in 1927 at the Empire Theatre in Toronto, as a member of the stock company, working 40 weeks per year until it closed in 1931.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="blackadar"/> Mallett later reminisced about her first role: "[it] had a very funny three lines that got a laugh. I can still see that stage, and I knew I wanted to act".<ref name="blackadar"/> Mallett's stage career included performances with Ontario's Shaw Festival and Stratford Festival, and Toronto's Hart House Theatre, Victoria Theatre, New Play Society (notably in their ''Spring Thaw'' comedy revues) and Crest Theatre.{{sfn |Benson |Conolly |1989 |pages=322-323}} Her last performance on stage was in 1976, performing in Hugh Leonard's ''Da'' for Theatre Compact.{{sfn |Benson |Conolly |1989 |page=323}}

With the development of radio and television, Mallett adapted and found work with the CBC. Mallett was a stalwart on CBC Radio from the 1940s to the 1970s, working with such notables as Andrew Allan, John Drainie, and Barry Morse. Mallett took part in the first network radio broadcast by the CBC.<ref name="blackadar"/> She was most noted for ''Travels with Aunt Jane'', a 1974 CBC Radio comedy series in which she portrayed the character of "Aunt Jane", an unmarried woman who travelled across Canada to visit her relatives.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84335864/ |title=Radio's a laugh with Aunty Jane Mallett |newspaper=Windsor Star |date=July 6, 1974}}</ref> Television producer Jack Humphrey also created a pilot for a television version of ''Aunt Jane'' in 1977,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84335945/ |title=Author tries pottery to background TV drama |newspaper=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |date=February 25, 1977}}</ref> but the show was not picked up to series. Mallett also participated in the launch of CBC-TV.<ref name="blackadar"/>

Mallett also worked in film. Her films included ''Love at First Sight'', ''The Sweet and the Bitter'', ''The Yellow Leaf'', ''Nothing Personal'', and ''Improper Channels''.

Mallett was president and co-founder of the benevolent Actors' Fund of Canada, and served on the board of directors for the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) union.<ref name="obit"/>

==Honours== She was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1975.<ref>"62 named to Order of Canada". ''Edmonton Journal'', June 28, 1975.</ref> In 1976, she was a recipient of ACTRA's John Drainie Award.<ref>{{cite news |title=It's a clean sweep for CBC shows in ACTRA Awards |newspaper=Calgary Herald |date=April 22, 1976}}</ref>

Following her death due to emphysema in 1984 (three days before her 85th birthday), she was posthumously celebrated in Toronto by the naming of a theatre in her honour at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.<ref>{{cite news |title=Theatre named after Jane Mallett |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=November 8, 1984}}</ref> The Jane Mallett Theatre is a 498-seat venue, with a semi-circular thrust stage, used for concerts, theatrical productions and audiovisual presentations.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1967|| ''The Sweet and the Bitter'' || Mrs. MacDonald || |- |1971|| ''The Megantic Outlaw'' || Morrison's mother || |- |1974|| ''Sweet Movie'' || Mrs. Alplanalpe || |- |1976|| ''Love at First Sight'' || Grandma || |- |1980|| ''Nothing Personal'' || Little Old Lady || |- |1981|| ''Improper Channels'' || Burger King Lady || |- |1983|| ''Utilities'' || Dr. Martha || (final film role) |}

==References== <references>

<ref name="blackadar">{{cite news |newspaper=Toronto Star |title=Five actors hold a family reunion |date=April 25, 1982 |page=D1 |first=Bruce |last=Blackadar }}</ref> <ref name="obit">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84335627/ |title=Jane Mallett dies |newspaper=Calgary Herald |date=April 16, 1984}}</ref>

</references> ===Sources=== * {{cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre |editor1-first=Eugene |editor1-last=Benson |editor2-first=L. W. |editor2-last=Conolly |year=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0195406729}} * {{cite book |last=Illidge |first=Paul |year=2005 |title=Glass Cage: The Crest Theatre Story |publisher=Creber Monde (Canada) |location=Toronto |isbn=0968634796}}

==External links== *{{IMDB name|0539976}} *[http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=102320&lang=eng Jane Mallett fonds (R2281)] at Library and Archives Canada

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallet, Jane}} Category:1899 births Category:1984 deaths Category:20th-century Canadian actresses Category:Canadian stage actresses Category:Canadian film actresses Category:Canadian radio actresses Category:Canadian television actresses Category:Actresses from London, Ontario Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:University of Toronto alumni