Janet Aldrich

Janet Aldrich grew up in Illinois, the daughter of Fran and George Wallerich, the youngest of 4. The year her parents divorced, she saw Bob Fosse 's film of "Cabaret (1972)", which awoke in her a lifetime passion for acting and singing. Janet then went to high school in the SF Bay area, and graduated from University of Miami. She originally majored in pre-law philosophy, then switched majors to theatre after being cast as Maria in West Side Story at the Ring Theatre alongside Ray Liotta as Riff and Steven Bauer as Diesel A trained soprano with a substantial belt, her first professional job in the theatre was at the Coconut Grove Theatre's production of "Bubblin' Brown Sugar" understudying the role of Sophie Tucker. There she met her first 2 mentors, Chapman Roberts and Elliott Lawrence, who planted the seeds for a New York career. After graduating with a BFA and touring with a show in South America in a show, she moved to New York and met Bob Fosse, her new mentor. She was discovered by her first agent in a showcase production in which she played Joan Crawford. Her first professional performance was on Ryan's Hope (1975) as nurse Ethel Lanson, her third was a national tour of "Annie" as the Star To Be. From there Ms. Aldrich went on to an illustrious New York Broadway and Paris career. Just after her third out of five Broadway shows, which was written and directed by Mr. George Abbott, she flew off to Paris and starred in Jérôme Savary's French production of "Cabaret" as Sally Bowles, replacing Ute Lemper. Despite so many French people saying her American accent was charming, she learned it's better for her to sing on French TV than to answer questions. Her co-star and French mentor, Jacqueline Danno, produced several demo recordings of her original songs. She appeared on CBS' Guiding Light (1952) as three different co-star/guest stars, As the World Turns (1956), and NBC's Another World (1964). Long ago the head of daytime casting at ABC at the time told her that ABC soaps don't do humor. Janet married Carlos Valdes-Dapena mid-career, and performed on- or headed to Broadway while pregnant, twice. Thanks to casting directors Sue Crystal and Jim Pitt, her first appearance on Saturday Night Live (1975) was 6 months after giving birth to her first-born child. Just two minutes before airing, she was called into the sound booth and told her character, Sheba, would not be doing her Egyptian dance with G.E. Smith's trio behind her as performed earlier, but instead to Madonna's recording of "Justify My Love". She responded, "Oh great! I can make that even funnier!" For her flexibility and ease at finding the comedy on a dime, she was asked to return to SNL for 3 years until the extended cast was added. She now lives in Montclair, New Jersey near her first child, and enjoys being a "Glamma" to 2 granddaughters between appearances. She records Audiobooks in her spare time.