Jan Adele Explained

Jan Adele
Birth Name:Janeece Adele
Birth Place:Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Birth Date:14 April 1935
Death Place:Allawah, New South Wales, Australia
Death Date:27 February 2000 (aged 64)

Janeece "Jan" Adele (14 April 1935[1] – 27 February 2000) was an Australian actress and entertainer active in many fields including circus, vaudeville, theatre, film and television. She was best known for her recurring comedy role of vaudevillian showgirl Trixie O'Toole in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96,[2] usually sharing scenes with co-stars Wendy Blacklock and Mike Dorsey.

Career

Early career

Adele is a fourth-generation performer. Her grandfather Roy Kelroy had worked for Barnum and Bailey circus in America. She appeared in pantomime from the age of three at Mark Foy's. Her aunt Eilleen Pascoe Webb ran an elocution and dance school in Melbourne, and her mother, known professionally as Eris O'Dell, worked at the Tivoli and J.C. Williamson, 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 had two children. Jan enjoyed a long and varied entertainment career. 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.

Television

In the 1970s she 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 character of Trixie – a warm and funny stage 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. In the late 1970s she also was a frequent comedy performer on The Mike Walsh Show.

Adele was a frequent guest on Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton. Later television guest appearances included Bony (1992), Heartbreak High (1994), Home and Away and 42nd Street.

Film

Adele subsequently acted in several Australian films. These included High Tide (1987), for which she won a Best Actress Award from the Australian Film Institute, Daisy and Simon (1988), ...Almost (1990), Greenkeeping (1992), Fatal Bond (1992) and The Sum of Us (1994).

Film

YearTitleRole Type
1976 Caddie Daisy Feature film
1981 Winter of Our Dreams Woman Feature film
1987 High Tide Bet Feature film
1988 Daisy and Simon Daisy Feature film
1990 ...Almost Role unknown Short film
1990 Wendy Cracked a Walnut Majorie Feature film
1991 Fatal Bond Mrs. Karvan Feature film
1992 Greenkeeping Doreen Feature film
1994 The Sum of Us Barmaid Feature film

Television

YearTitleRole Type
1960The Bobby Limb ShowGuest - Herself/PerformerTV series
1960The Joe Martin ShowHerself/PerformerTV series
1969-1976; 1977-1985The Mike Walsh ShowRegular: Guest/PerformerTV series
1969In Melbourne TonightGuest Performer, sings "I'll Remember April"TV series, 6 episodes
1971-1972The Bob Rogers ShowGuest/PerformerTV series
1972King's KitchenGuest - HerselfTV series
1973HomicideGuest roleTV series, 1 episode
1974Division 4Guest roleTV series, 1 episode
1974-1975Number 96Regular role: Trixie O'TooleTV series, 63 episodes
1976Mummy and MeRole unknown TV Pilot
1977-1985The Mike Walsh ShowGuest - Herself/Performer with Lucky GrillsTV series, 1 episode
1977The Maggi Eckhardt ShowGuest - Herself/PerformerTV series, 1 episode
1978Graham Kennedy's Blankety BlanksHerself - PanelistTV series
1980Celebrity TattletalesHerself & Paul FlanaganTV series, 2 episodes
1981Personality SquaresHerself - ContestantTV series, 1 episode
1985Blankety BlanksGuest - ContestantTV series, 3 episodes
1987Have a GoHerself - Guest JudgeTV series, 6 episodes
1987; 1988The Midday ShowGuest - Herself with Claudia KarvanTV series, 1 episode
1987The 1987 Australian Film Institute AwardsHerself - Winer Best Support Actress 'High Tide'TV special
1988The Midday ShowGuest - Herself & Sean ScullyTV series, 1 episode
1988Rafferty's RulesGuest role: Mrs. GunningTV series, 1 episode
1989Couchman in AustraliaGuest - Herself with Rosie Sturgess, Val Jellay & Wendy HarmerABC TV series, 1 episode
1989In Melbourne TodayGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1990Tonight Live with Steve VizardGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1990Home and AwayGuest role: Helen CodyTV series, 2 episodes
1991A Country PracticeGuest role: Mrs. HowieTV series, 1 episode
1991The Miraculous MellopsGuest role: CustomerTV miniseries, 2 episodes
1991In Sydney TodayGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1992BonyGuest role: Mrs. AdeleTV series, 1 episode
1992The Morning ShowGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1994; 1995Good Morning AustraliaGuest - Herself/PerformerTV series; 1 episode
1994Heartbreak HighRegular role: RubyTV series, 26 episodes
1994At HomeGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1995; 1996Good Morning AustraliaGuest - Herself/PerformerTV series, 1 episode
1995Ernie and DeniseGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1996; 1998Good Morning AustraliaGuest - Herself/PerformerTV series, 1 episode
1998Good Morning AustraliaGuest - Herself & Lucky GrillsTV series, 1 episode

Personal life

She was married at 17. Her second husband, actor Rick Marshall, was a bisexual. Her third marriage was to musician David Anderson in 1962. Adele had two daughters, Mandy and Jody.

Awards

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Jan Adele won two awards in that time, and the encouragement award was named named him.[4] (wins only)|-| 1977| Jan Adele| Comedian / Comedianne of the Year | |-| 1982| Jan Adele and Lucky Grills – Fun Follies| Variety Show of the Year | |-

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jan Adele interviewed by Bill Stephens.
  2. Book: Lentz III, Harris M. . Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000 . 7 . 2008 . 9780786452057 . McFarland .
  3. Web site: Entertainer Jan Adele, who is a member of the NSW Concert Party, sings on stage.... 6 April 2019.
  4. Web site: MO Award Winners. Mo Awards. 14 March 2022.