Adelaide Klein (July 8, 1900 – March 18, 1983) was an American actress who performed on radio, television, films, and the stage. She was best known for her dialects as a radio performer. Over the course of her thirty-year career, Klein performed in radio comedies and soap operas, appeared in eight shows on Broadway, four films, and on thirteen television series.

Early life

Klein was born in New York City on July 8, 1900. While she attended Julia Richman High School, she prepared for a career in business but also was exposed to drama. After graduation, she began working as a secretary.

Career

Klein began her radio as a singer in the late 1920s. However, demand for her talents with dialect and as a character actress led her to acting full-time by 1933. She performed in a variety of radio programs, including portraying Hilda, the maid in ''We, The Abbotts'', Dragon Lady in '' Terry and the Pirates'', Agatha Meek in ''Meet Mr. Meek'', and a Russian countess in ''The House on Q Street''. She also was heard in ''Sometime Before Morning''. Klein mastered use of 12 dialects in radio performances. Klein performed in a USO production of ''Blithe Spirit'' during World War II. Broadway shows in which she appeared included ''Double Dummy'' (1936), ''Brooklyn, U.S.A.'' (1941), ''Uncle Harry'' (1942), ''Collector's Item'' (1952), ''The Immoralist'' (1954), ''Once Upon a Tailor'' (1955), ''Jane Eyre'' (1958), and ''Marathon '33'' (1963). Her film credits included ''The Naked City'' (1948) and ''The Enforcer'' (1951). She was signed to play the role of Martha in director Otto Preminger's ''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' and scenes were shot in New York City, but the role was ultimately played by another actress. On television, Klein portrayed the landlady on the situation comedy ''Two Girls Named Smith'' (1951). She also had roles on other TV shows, including ''

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'' (1949), '' Studio One in Hollywood'' (1949), ''The Ford Theatre Hour'' (1950), and '' The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse'' (1950).

Blacklist

In the mid-1940s, Klein was active in the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) and served as a delegate for New York at national conferences in 1943 and 1944. Klein was one of 56 delegates for New York at national conferences in 1943 and 1944, where she worked with others, including

Donna Keath Donna Keath (died 1962) was an actress who worked in radio and on the stage. Although Keath was better known for her work in radio, she performed on stage in ''The Playboy of Newark'' at the Provincetown Playhouse in March 1943. She also play ...

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, Selena Royle, and

Hester Sondergaard Hester Sondergaard (July 5, 1903 – February 26, 1994) was an American actress. Early years Born in Litchfield, Minnesota, Sondergaard was the daughter of Hans T. Søndergaard, a dairy instructor at a university, and the sister of actress Ga ...

. Along with Keath, Pious, Shepherd, Royle, Sondergaard, Klein was listed in the blacklisting publication, '' Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television'' in 1950. She continued to perform in theatre, but television roles dried up as a consequence of Klein being labelled a communist.

Personal life

Klein married Louis S. Wettels in Manhattan in the late 1920s. She later married Norman Annenberg. Klein died of a brain tumor on March 18, 1983, at the age of 82.

Filmography

Broadway

* ''Double Dummy'' (November 11, 1936 – December 1936) * ''Brooklyn, U.S.A.'' (December 21, 1941 – February 7, 1942) * ''Uncle Harry'' (May 20, 1942 – May 9, 1943) * ''Collector’s Item'' (February 8, 1952 – February 9, 1952) * ''The Immoralist'' (February 8, 1954 – May 1, 1954) * ''Once Upon A Tailor'' (May 23, 1955 – May 28, 1955) * ''Jane Eyre'' (May 1, 1958 – June 14, 1958) * ''Marathon ‘33'' (December 22, 1963 – February 1, 1964)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Adelaide 1900 births 1983 deaths American radio actresses American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from New York City 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses Julia Richman Education Complex alumni