A forgotten starlet of 1930s B-movies was Lillian Elizabeth Guenther, a pretty, hazel-eyed blonde of German ancestry. Her family moved from Arkansas to California when she was a child. In the early 20s, she had bit parts in a couple of silent pictures. During her subsequent hiatus from film work, Janet completed her education at the Orton School for Girls in Pasadena, then spent five years as a theatrical dancer. She also had a lucrative sideline as a model in southern California, often employed by exclusive fashion houses. In 1932, she was selected as a junior hostess representing Arkansas at the Los Angeles Olympics. The following year, she was signed by Fox and starred in only her second film for the studio opposite George O'Brien in The Golden West (1932). Unfortunately, her next venture turned out to be a box-office bomb and Janet was dropped by the studio. Though she stayed on the Hollywood periphery as a lead actress for another three years, she was already condemned to bottom-of-the-bill sage brush operas and melodramas for Poverty Row outfits like Weiss Brothers, Peerless and Reliable. Sometime in 1935 -- presumably on the set of Rough Riding Ranger (1935) -- she had an accident which prompted her to retire from acting. That same year, she married a New York investment broker, became Lillian Barrett and, for all intents and purposes, left show business behind.

See photos of celebrities before they hit the big-time.

Janet Chandler

Actress