Biography

Jan Shutan is best remembered as Lieutenant Mira Romaine, an officer on the starship Enterprise, whose mind is invaded by non-corporeal life forms in The Lights of Zetar (1969). Aside from this iconic role, her face might also be familiar for her many TV commercials. She started with ads for Tareyton cigarettes and went on to promote (in her own words) anything "from cars to soapsuds", earning her up to $ 10,000 per gig. Born Janice Dottenheim in Los Angeles and growing up in Beverly Hills, Jan was bitten by the acting bug early on and got her chance in 1955 as a winner on the CBS variety show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. She worked for a while as a model and made her TV debut in a 1963 episode of Arrest and Trial (1963). Jan subsequently persevered as a working actress through the 60s and 70s and had notable guest spots in, among others, Au-delà du réel (1963), Le fugitif (1963), Night Gallery (1969) and Quincy (1976), as well as recurring roles in Ben Casey (1961) and Room 222 (1969). Jan retired from acting in 1988. Her second husband was the Emmy Award-winning writer-producer David Levinson whom she met on the set of the short-lived CBS drama series Sons and Daughters (1974). He predeceased her in 2019.

- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis