Jan Miner, 86; Actress, Palmolive Ads’ Madge

Jan Miner, a New York stage actress who gained fame as Madge the Manicurist in Palmolive television ads, has died. She was 86.

Miner died Sunday at the Bethel Health Care Facility in Bethel, Conn., her agent, Michael Thomas, told the New York Times. She had been living in nearby Southbury, Conn.

From the 1940s to the ‘80s, Miner appeared on and off Broadway and in productions in St. Louis; New Haven, Conn.; and Stratford, Conn. She also was on radio programs, including “Boston Blackie,” a series in the late 1940s. Miner appeared in repertory productions at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford for six seasons, and in films, television plays and series.

She won her most widespread attention in Palmolive commercials as Madge, praising the gentleness of its dish detergent to a customer surprised to find her hands soaking in it. She played the character for 26 years. It allowed her the luxury of selecting her theater roles. “I’d dip my hands in Palmolive the rest of my life,” Miner once said.

She frequently shared the stage with her husband of 35 years, Richard Merrell, an actor and writer. He died in 1988.

Miner was born Oct. 15, 1917, in Boston. She studied at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston and trained for the stage with Lee Strasberg, among others.

She is survived by a brother, Donald Miner of Concord, N.H.