Biography

Vivi Janiss was born on May 29, 1911 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for Lux Video Theatre (1950), I Love Lucy (1951) and Ben Casey (1961). She was married to John Larch and Robert Cummings. She died on September 7, 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

She was an occasional prime-time radio drama actress in the 1950s on high quality half hour CBS radio shows such as Gunsmoke and Escape, produced in Los Angeles. In an episode of Gunsmoke, "The Cabin" (12-27-52), as Belle, she resigns herself to a life of prostitution after being held a month captive by two outlaws.

Using the stage name of Vivian or Vivi Janiss in the 1934 Ziegfeld Follies -- where she met future husband, actor Robert Cummings -- she introduced what became the Vernon Duke standard, "I Like the Likes of You".