The new star of "Darby O' Gill," who hails from Blighty, has one outstanding faible: she can't stand her own company
TWO SHORT YEARS AGO, Janet Munro was a 22-year-old actress unknown in this country, scarcely known in her native England. Before Walt Disney found her and lifted her to stardom in "Darby O Gill And The Little People," she was playing juvenile roles in English films and television. But of all the leading roles Janet is now destined to play for Disney Productions, none will probably have more personal meaning for her than that of the little girl she acted in a TV play called "Lace On Her Petticoat."
"The story was about a lonely little girl who wants a best friend and lace petticoat more than anything else," Janet recalls. "She got them but-life being what it is she was still lonely. I thought I knew just how that little girl felt as I was playing her part. I can't stand loneliness myself. It's my biggest failing. If I'm alone in an apartment or a hotel room - begin to bite my fingernails and wonder what to do. I can't stand my own company. I must have people around me. Lots of them."
Disney, who signed her to a five-movie contract, thinks he can change Janet's problem to one of wanting to avoid people. He thinks her performances in "Darby O' Gill" and with James MacArthur and Michael Rennie in "Third Man On The Mountain" are bound to supply Janet with more friends than she'll use up in a life time.
At 24, Janet is still playing juvenile or teenage roles. For the best of reasons: Her height (five feet, one inch), her face, which bears a faint, Oriental, doll-like look, and her astonishing ear for children's voices make her a casting director's dream when there's a young girl's part to be played. (The little girl in "Lace On Her Petticoat" was supposed to be 12 years old. Janet was 22 when she played the part with ingenious conviction.)
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