Jan Miner
Actor · Died February 15, 2004, aged 86 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Janice Miner (October 15, 1917 – February 15, 2004) was an American actress best known as the character Madge the manicurist in Palmolive dish-washing detergent television commercials from the 1960s to the 1990s. Janice Miner was the daughter of a dentist and a painter, and had three brothers, Sheldon, Donald and Lyndsey. She studied at the Vesper George School of Art in her native Boston, then studied acting under Lee Strasberg and others. She made her stage debut in 1945 in a Boston production of Elmer Rice's Street Scene. Miner then became established on radio, and worked through the 1950s in several series simultaneously. Among other roles, she was one of three actresses who played secretary Della Street on Perry Mason and one of five to play girlfriend Ann Williams on Casey, Crime Photographer. She also appeared as Mary Wesley on Boston Blackie. Miner played featured roles in the anthology series Radio City Playhouse, in "Soundless", "Portrait of Lenore" and other episodes. Her appearance in the premiere broadcast of the series "created a minor sensation in the play Long Distance"; the episode proved so popular that she repeated her performance later in the season. From circa 1948 through some time before the series ended in 1957, Miner starred as Julie Erickson, head of the titular orphanage in the soap opera Hilltop House, during most of the show's revival beginning in 1948. The series was sponsored by the Colgate-Palmolive Company, for which she later appeared in a famous, long-running series of television commercials.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 15, 1917
- February 15, 2004 (aged 86)
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Actor
- 12 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
What are Jan Miner's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Allyas Sally Marr in Lenny (1974)
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet5
- Tragic1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jan Miner's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Jan Miner's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
23 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
Remember WENN(1996)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Mermaids(1990)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all filmsStood Up! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Law & Order(1990)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
Used Innocence (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Gertrude Stein and a Companion! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Cagney & Lacey(1981)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
Endless Love(1981)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Willie & Phil(1980)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
F.D.R.: The Last Year(1980)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Out of Our Fathers' House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Lenny(1974)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all filmsPaul Sand in Friends and Lovers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Rx for the Defense(1973)
Great Performances (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Swimmer(1968)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
One Step Beyond(1959)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Naked City(1958)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Casey, Crime Photographer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Robert Montgomery Presents (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Lights Out (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
Studio One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
Career shape
Star power in the 81st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 22 titles from 1948 to 1996; peak year 1990.
Film career
Peak 1990 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1968Screen debut· The Swimmer
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Jan Miner's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66th percentile, the median of the 6 of 7 with a score; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the acting 71/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 83, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jan Miner's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Jan Miner work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jan Miner's MovieCove titles; Herbert Brodkin shares the most, 2.
- Herbert BrodkinShared titles: F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980), Rx for the Defense (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Herbert Brodkin
- Robert BergerShared titles: F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980), Rx for the Defense (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Berger