While Jane Withers' films were considered "B-pictures" with much lower budgets than Shirley Temple's, a theater owner's poll named her one of the top money-making stars in 1936 and 1937, per Associated Press. At her peak, Withers was earning $2,500 per week and $50,000 annually in endorsements, including a range of dolls and mystery novels similar to Nancy Drew. According to the New York Times, her merchandise earned more money than any of her movies. Even during a 2004 auction, a Jane Withers doll sold for $5,600, compared to Temple's for $3,100. Aside from selling her own toys, she accumulated quite the collection herself with thousands sent by fans — including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose wife Eleanor hand-delivered a teddy bear.
Despite retiring from Hollywood to raise a family, Withers sporadically appeared in various television shows and films, including "Giant" opposite Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean in 1956. But her most "memorable" role, and perhaps most profitable, was as Josephine the plumber in the Comet cleanser commercials in the 1960s. Withers told the Los Angeles Times in 1963 (via USA Today), "Oh, the money is nice, all right. I got five figures for eight of those commercials, and I'm doing four more."
While she listed her 6,761-square-foot Bel-Air home for $6 million in 2016, Celebrity Net Worth estimates Withers' net worth to have been around $5 million prior to her death.
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