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Jan Adele

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Jan Adele
Born
Janeece Adele[1]

14 April 1935[2]
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died27 February 2000 (aged 64)
Occupations
  • vaudevillian
  • circus performer
  • actress
  • singer
  • dancer

Janeece "Jan" Adele (14 April 1935[2] – 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,[1] usually sharing scenes with co-stars Wendy Blacklock and Mike Dorsey.

Career

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Early career

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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.[2] 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

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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.[1]

Film

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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).[1]

Film

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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 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

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Year Title Role Type
1960 The Bobby Limb Show Guest - Herself/Performer TV series
1960 The Joe Martin Show Herself/Performer TV series
1969-1976; 1977-1985 The Mike Walsh Show Regular: Guest/Performer TV series
1969 In Melbourne Tonight Guest Performer, sings "I'll Remember April" TV series, 6 episodes
1971-1972 The Bob Rogers Show Guest/Performer TV series
1972 King's Kitchen Guest - Herself TV series
1973 Homicide Guest role TV series, 1 episode
1974 Division 4 Guest role TV series, 1 episode
1974-1975 Number 96 Regular role: Trixie O'Toole TV series, 63 episodes
1976 Mummy and Me Role unknown TV Pilot
1977-1985 The Mike Walsh Show Guest - Herself/Performer with Lucky Grills TV series, 1 episode
1977 The Maggi Eckhardt Show Guest - Herself/Performer TV series, 1 episode
1978 Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks Herself - Panelist TV series
1980 Celebrity Tattletales Herself & Paul Flanagan TV series, 2 episodes
1981 Personality Squares Herself - Contestant TV series, 1 episode
1985 Blankety Blanks Guest - Contestant TV series, 3 episodes
1987 Have a Go Herself - Guest Judge TV series, 6 episodes
1987; 1988 The Midday Show Guest - Herself with Claudia Karvan TV series, 1 episode
1987 The 1987 Australian Film Institute Awards Herself - Winer Best Support Actress 'High Tide' TV special
1988 The Midday Show Guest - Herself & Sean Scully TV series, 1 episode
1988 Rafferty's Rules Guest role: Mrs. Gunning TV series, 1 episode
1989 Couchman in Australia Guest - Herself with Rosie Sturgess, Val Jellay & Wendy Harmer ABC TV series, 1 episode
1989 In Melbourne Today Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode
1990 Tonight Live with Steve Vizard Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode
1990 Home and Away Guest role: Helen Cody TV series, 2 episodes
1991 A Country Practice Guest role: Mrs. Howie TV series, 1 episode
1991 The Miraculous Mellops Guest role: Customer TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1991 In Sydney Today Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode
1992 Bony Guest role: Mrs. Adele TV series, 1 episode
1992 The Morning Show Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode
1994; 1995 Good Morning Australia Guest - Herself/Performer TV series; 1 episode
1994 Heartbreak High Regular role: Ruby TV series, 26 episodes
1994 At Home Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode
1995; 1996 Good Morning Australia Guest - Herself/Performer TV series, 1 episode
1995 Ernie and Denise Guest - Herself TV series, 1 episode
1996; 1998 Good Morning Australia Guest - Herself/Performer TV series, 1 episode
1998 Good Morning Australia Guest - Herself & Lucky Grills TV series, 1 episode

Personal life

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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.[2]

Awards

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Mo Awards

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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]

Year Nominee / work Award Result (wins only)
1977 Jan Adele Comedian / Comedianne of the Year Won
1982 Jan Adele and Lucky Grills – Fun Follies Variety Show of the Year Won

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lentz III, Harris M. (2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000. McFarland. p. 7. ISBN 9780786452057.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Jan Adele interviewed by Bill Stephens".
  3. ^ "Entertainer Jan Adele, who is a member of the NSW Concert Party, sings on stage..." Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  4. ^ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
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