This was the photo that started it all for Karin Jan Smithers, in Woodland Hills, CA in 1966.
It took the assistance of half a dozen people and months of dead ends to track down "Jan" Smithers, by far the most famous of the six teenagers Newsweek profiled in 1966. She chose Jan as her Hollywood fame name
After appearing on the cover of Newsweek's teen issue—blond, sun-kissed, seated on a motorcycle and flashing a killer smile—Smithers and her mother soon got all kinds of calls from "many, many" Hollywood agents hoping to represent her, and she decided it might be interesting to do acting. Jan and her mother went to meet some Hollywood agents but Jan was always interested in Art. She opted for Choinard Art Institute. A little later on she decided to pursue acting.
She then was on the back page of Hot Rod Magazine (see why I'm posting about her?!) of March 1967
same ad ran in Motor Trend Aug 67
and from there, Jan’s family was contacted by Hollywood agents and modeling reps. Work in TV began in 1973 and continued until 1987, with stops on The Love Boat, Starsky & Hutch, Murder, She Wrote, and Mike Hammer. She spent ten years married to James Brolin from ‘86 to 1995
The roles of Baily and Jennifer on WKRP are likely to have been influenced by the Ginger and Mary Ann roles on Gilligan's Island
“What is it you young people want, anyway?
“We want to be free…to ride our machines…without bein’ hassled... by THE MAN!”
50 years later, Newsweek interviewed her about the decades and fame: https://www.newsweek.com/2016/05/27/jan-smithers-newsweek-teens-issue-457672.html
Who is Karin?
ReplyDeleteher birth name is Karin Jan Smithers. https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jan-smithers/credits/3030190684/ I see I didn't make that clear that she chose to use her middle name after Hollywood fame happened
DeleteYou are the man Jesse!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I was listening to a history of rock and roll, and the topic was legendary radio stations, and since the storytellers had a sense of humor, they decided that for Thanksgiving, they'd do an episode on WKRP, and discussed the characters, the inspiration, the actors, etc. I found her story to be very cool, discovered this way, and Hot Rod Magazine back page, so it had to be something I post about. Plus, motorcycles, women succeeding in business, and the Hollywood (Brolin Streisand) scandal.
DeleteI always hoped I'd have a Bailey or Mary Ann fall in love with me. It didn't happen.