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Jan Adele
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 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2019) |
Janice Adele (14 April 1935[2] – 27 February 2000), better known as Jan Adele, was an Australian actress and entertainer with a career spanning over 50 years, in circus, vaudeville, theatre, television and film. She was best known for her role as showgirl Trixie O'Toole in the 1970s soap opera Number 96.[1]
Key Information
Early life
[edit]Adele was a fourth-generation performer. Her grandfather Roy Kelroy had worked for Barnum and Bailey circus in America and her aunt Eilleen Pascoe Webb ran an elocution and dance school in Melbourne. Her mother, was known professionally as Eris O'Dell, worked for the Tivoli circuit and J.C. Williamson, as a singer, actress and dancer and also played piano, and was an assistant producer to Jack Davey at the Macquarie theatre radio and to Wallace Parnell at the Tivoli. Adele did not know her father.
Adele appeared in pantomime from the age of three at Mark Foy's. As a teenager she performed in the circus as an acrobat on the high wire, and as a contortionist. At the age of 19 she began a three-year stint entertaining US troops in Korea and Japan. In 1971 she was part of the New South Wales Concert Party, entertaining Australian troops in Vietnam.[3] After this she performed steadily in vaudeville theatre and as a show girl.
Career
[edit]Television
[edit]In the 1970s, Adele moved into television, with guest spots in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide and Division 4. Subsequent to this, she was spotted by Number 96 producer Bill Harmon in a pantomime show and he devised the recurring character of Trixie O'Toole – a warm and funny vaudevillian showgirl and nightclub entertainer who has been treading the boards for years – for her.
Some of the humour of her Number 96 character was built around Adele's 15 stone figure. When joining the series Adele happily signed the nudity clause present in all cast member's contracts, reasoning that she would never be called upon to strip. She was later horrified to learn she would need to appear semi-nude for a comedy sequence in the show, but went ahead with the scenes. She often shared scenes with co-stars Wendy Blacklock and Mike Dorsey.
In the late 1970s, Adele was a frequent comedy performer on The Mike Walsh Show. She was also a frequent guest on Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton. Later television guest credits included Bony (1992), Heartbreak High (1994), Home and Away and 42nd Street.[1]
Film
[edit]Adele subsequently acted in several Australian films. These included High Tide (1987), for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Award from the Australian Film Institute, Daisy and Simon (1988), ...Almost (1990), Greenkeeping (1992), Fatal Bond (1992) and The Sum of Us (1994).[1]
Personal life
[edit]Adele was married at 17. Her second husband, actor Rick Marshall, was bisexual. Her third marriage was to musician David Anderson in 1962. Adele had two daughters, Mandy and Jody.[2]
Awards
[edit]| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Jan Adele | Mo Awards | Comedian of the Year | Won |
| 1982 | Jan Adele and Lucky Grills – Fun Follies | Mo Awards | Variety Show of the Year | Won |
| 1987 | High Tide | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Won |
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Caddie | Daisy | Feature film |
| 1981 | Winter of Our Dreams | Woman | Feature film |
| 1987 | High Tide | Bet | Feature film |
| 1988 | Daisy and Simon (aka Where the Outback Ends) | Daisy | Feature film |
| 1990 | Wendy Cracked a Walnut (aka ...Almost) | Majorie | Feature film |
| 1991 | Fatal Bond | Mrs. Karvan | Feature film |
| 1992 | Greenkeeping | Doreen | Feature film |
| 1994 | The Sum of Us | Barmaid | Feature film |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Bobby Limb Show | Guest performer | |
| The Joe Martin Show | Guest performer | ||
| 1969 | In Melbourne Tonight | Guest performer | 6 episodes |
| 1969–1985 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest performer | |
| 1971–1972 | The Bob Rogers Show | Guest performer | |
| 1973 | Homicide | 1 episode | |
| 1974 | Division 4 | 1 episode | |
| 1974–1975 | Number 96 | Trixie O'Toole | 63 episodes |
| 1976 | Mummy and Me | TV pilot | |
| 1978 | Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks | Panelist | |
| 1981 | Personality Squares | Contestant | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Blankety Blanks | Contestant | 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Have a Go | Guest judge | 6 episodes |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | Mrs. Gunning | 1 episode |
| 1990 | Home and Away | Helen Cody | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | A Country Practice | Mrs. Howie | 1 episode |
| The Miraculous Mellops | Customer | 2 episodes | |
| 1992 | Bony | Mrs. Adele | 1 episode |
| 1994 | Heartbreak High | Ruby | 26 episodes |
Theatre
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Seahorse | UNSW, Old Tote Parade Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1979 | Fun Follies | Palais Royale, Newcastle, NSW tour with Vidette Productions | |
| 1981 | Gypsy | Rose | Rockdale Town Hall, Sydney |
| 1982 | My Kind of Music | Singer | Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney |
| 1984 | Better Known As Bee | Q Theatre, Penrith | |
| 1988 | Variety for AIDS | Paddington-Woollahra RSL | |
| 1990 | Barnum | His Majesty's Theatre, Perth with Western Australian Theatre Company | |
| 1991 | Fabulous Follies | Dancer | Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide |
| 1992 | Alive, Alone, Adele | Creator / performer | Tilbury Hotel, Sydney, Queanbeyan School of Arts Cafe |
| 1993 | Nunsense 2 | La Mama, Melbourne with Edgley International | |
| 1997 | 42nd Street | Maggie Jones | Theatre Royal, Hobart |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Lentz III, Harris M. (2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000. McFarland. p. 7. ISBN 9780786452057.
- ^ a b c d "Jan Adele interviewed by Bill Stephens".
- ^ "Entertainer Jan Adele, who is a member of the NSW Concert Party, sings on stage..." Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ "Mo Award Winners". Mo Awards. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Jan Adele theatre credits". AusStage.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
Jan Adele
View on GrokipediaEarly life
Family heritage and childhood
Jan Adele was born in 1936 in Australia. [1] She was the daughter of Eris O'Dell, a professional singer, actress, dancer, and pianist who performed on the Tivoli circuit and with J.C. Williamson, and later worked as an assistant radio producer. [4] [5] Adele did not know her father and grew up in a performing family environment in Australia as a fourth-generation performer. [6] Her grandfather was Roy Kelroy, a performer with the Barnum and Bailey circus in America, and her aunt was Eilleen Pascoe Webb, who operated an elocution and dance school in Melbourne. She began performing at age 3. [1]Entry into entertainment
Jan Adele's entry into the entertainment industry began during her teenage years when she trained and performed as a high-wire acrobat and contortionist in the circus. [2] This early professional work marked her transition from family-influenced childhood activities to paid performance, providing foundational experience in physical and stage disciplines that shaped her subsequent career in variety entertainment. [7] Her circus engagements represented her first steps into structured professional entertainment before expanding into broader vaudeville and theatre pursuits. [8]Variety and theatre career
Circus, vaudeville, and pantomime
Jan Adele's involvement in circus, vaudeville, and pantomime formed the foundation of her entertainment career, beginning in her teenage years and continuing throughout much of her professional life. As a teenager, she performed in the circus as an acrobat on the high wire and as a contortionist, showcasing physical skills that reflected her family's links to traditional Australian circus traditions. [2] She entered vaudeville early in her career, establishing her versatility in variety performance. [7] Following her early experiences, Adele performed steadily in vaudeville shows, maintaining an active presence in this form of live entertainment even as her career expanded. [8] Her work in pantomime included appearances that highlighted her comedic timing and stage presence, contributing to her reputation as a multifaceted performer in traditional popular theatre formats. [7] These traditional entertainment forms remained a core part of her identity as an entertainer over decades.Military entertainment tours
Jan Adele undertook military entertainment tours to boost morale among troops serving overseas. At the age of 19, around 1955, she spent three years entertaining United States troops in Korea and Japan. [2] In 1971, she was a member of the New South Wales Concert Party, which toured South Vietnam to perform for Australian forces. [3] The tour took place in December 1971 and included performances by Adele alongside other entertainers such as Sylvia Raye, Johnny Holmes, and additional musicians. [9] She sang on stage for audiences of soldiers, including members of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) at Van Kiep in Phuoc Tuy Province, often accompanied by a guitarist. [10] Australian War Memorial photographs document her singing to troops, some seated in the shade of palm trees during the outdoor shows. [3]Theatre productions
Jan Adele's theatre career evolved to include a range of scripted productions, including plays, musicals, and revues, showcasing her talents in more structured stage roles during the late 1970s through the 1990s. She performed in The Seahorse in 1975. Her involvement in musical theatre included playing the role of Rose in Gypsy in 1981 at the Rockdale Town Hall in Sydney. In 1990, she appeared in Barnum. [11] Other notable productions included Fun Follies, a 1979 tour with Vidette Productions at the Palais Royale in Newcastle, NSW, Better Known As Bee in 1984, and Fabulous Follies in 1991. In 1992, she created and performed in the solo show Alive, Alone, Adele, a personal reflection on her life and career in stage and screen. [12] She later appeared in Nunsense 2 in 1993 and as Maggie Jones in 42nd Street in 1997. These roles highlighted her transition from variety entertainment to dramatic and musical performances on stage.Television career
Film career
Awards and recognition
Jan Adele received recognition for her work in variety entertainment and film.- 1977: Mo Award for Comedian of the Year note: based on archived Mo Awards records.
- 1982: Mo Award for Variety Show of the Year (shared with Lucky Grills for Fun Follies)
- 1987: Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for High Tide. [13] [14]