Adele Lacy (born Adeline Charlotte Fergestad, September 8, 1910 – July 3, 1953) was an American film actress whose films all appeared during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Her name was sometimes spelled Adele Lacey.

Early life

Born as in Minnesota on September 8, 1910, she was the daughter of Morris and Mina Fergestad. With her parents, she grew up in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota with an older brother, C. Marvin Fergestad. She was of Norwegian heritage. She attended the Junior School of Expression, Jefferson Junior High School, and West High School in Minneapolis and began acting in local productions at an early age. At the age of 15 in 1926, she joined Gus Edwards' Juvenile Frolic dance troupe while they were performing in Hennipin. She had received her education in dance from Helen Noble. Later that year she was made the face of Minneapolis Candy Company, Sweetest Maid, and named "Miss Sweetest Maid". She left for Hollywood shortly after joining Edwards' group and finished her public education at

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...

in 1928.

Career

After moving to

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

Lacy appeared in eleven films. She appeared in three credited movies and an additional eight un-credited movies. In 1932, in her first released movie, she was credited as the number two as "Diane Melville" behind only the film's star,

Tom Tyler Tom Tyler (August 9, 1903 – May 1, 1954) was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films, and for his portrayal of superheroes in movie serials ''The Adventures of Captain Marvel'' and ''The Phantom''. Tyler als ...

, in ''Vanishing Men''. Later in 1932, she was credited as the number two as "Judy Flagg" behind only the film's star,

Lane Chandler Lane Chandler (born Robert Clinton Oakes, June 4, 1899 – September 14, 1972) was an American actor specializing mainly in Westerns. Biography Early life Chandler was raised on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the son of a horse ran ...

in ''The Wyoming Whirlwind''. Her final credited role was as the number two "Ruth Davis" behind the star, Tom Tyler, in '' When a Man Rides Alone''. She had uncredited roles in an additional eight movies. Her first uncredited role was in 1932's ''The Kid from Spain''. Her second un-credited role was in what was likely the most famous motion picture in which she ever appeared; she was a Chorus Girl in the famed 1933 release,

42nd Street (film) ''42nd Street'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon, with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars an ense ...

. As a member of the

Goldwyn Girls The Goldwyn Girls were a musical stock company of female dancers employed by Samuel Goldwyn. Famous actresses, dancers, and models whose career included a stint in the Goldwyn Girls include Lucille Ball, Virginia Bruce, Claire Dodd, Paulette Godda ...

, her role as a dancer in ''

The Kid from Spain ''The Kid from Spain'' is a 1932 American pre-Code black-and-white musical comedy film directed by Leo McCarey. Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar composed the songs, and Busby Berkeley is credited with creating and directing the film's musical scenes. ...

'' was praised in 1932. In 1933, she appeared in several musical scenes of a series of musical

westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...

starring

. In 1935, she was a featured dancer in ''Redheads on Parade'' starring John Boles and

Dixie Lee Dixie Lee (born Wilma Winifred Wyatt; November 4, 1909 – November 1, 1952) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby. Biography Lee was born Wilma Winifred Wyatt in Harriman, Tennessee, on No ...

. In 1936, she was a dancer in

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical film, musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Lui ...

.Jane Withers Takes Fling as Amateur
The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida) 24 May 1938, page 11 Over her career, Lacy starred in musicals and westerns, and she was also a pinup girl and

chorus girl A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. While synchronized dancing indicative of a chorus line was vogue during the first half of th ...

. While in films, she worked with

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

Hoot Gibson Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson (August 6, 1892 – August 23, 1962) was an American rodeo champion, film actor, film director, and producer. While acting and stunt work began as a sideline to Gibson's focus on rodeo, he successfully transitioned ...

, and

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

. By 1938, with her last uncredited movie being back in 1936, her career had taken a different path. She was a special correspondent in

Shanghai, China Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

for a news syndicate. However, this was a short term assignment since passenger lists show that she was back in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

later in November 1938.

Personal life

Before the 1930 census was enumerated, she was married to movie

still photographer A unit still photographer (or simply still photographer) creates still photos specifically for use in publicity and marketing of feature films and television productions. In addition to creating photographs for the promotion of a film, the still ...

Madison S. Lacy (1898-1978).Skolsky, Sidney
Behind the News
Daily News (New York, New York) 13 Aug 1932, page 15 Lacy's second marriage was to director

Walter Futter Walter Futter (January 2, 1900 – March 3, 1958) was a film producer and director in the United States. After an initial career cutting and editing films, Futter began writing and producing his own shorts and movies, often using footage he acquir ...

(1900-1958) in December 1937. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she had crossed the Atlantic Ocean to produce musicals in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

with an amateur cast to entertain the troops. In 1945-1953, the Futters lived in the New York City suburb bedroom community of

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",

for the last eight years of her life. She died in

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on July 3, 1953.

Films

All release dates are in the USA. * The release on April 15, 1932, '' Vanishing Men'' * The release on November 17, 1932, ''

'' * The release on December 30, 1932, '' The Wyoming Whirlwind'' aka ''

Roaring Rider A roar is a type of animal vocalization that is loud, deep and resonating. Many mammals have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of ...

'' aka '' The Texas Tornado'' * The release on January 15, 1933, '' When a Man Rides Alone'' * The release on February 23, 1933, ''

42nd Street 42nd Street most commonly refers to: *42nd Street (Manhattan), a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan It may also refer to: *42nd Street (film), ''42nd Street'' (film), a 1933 American Warner Bros. musical film with lyri ...

'' * The release on May 27, 1933, ''

Gold Diggers Of 1933 ''Gold Diggers of 1933'' is an American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It starr ...

'' * The release on October 21, 1933, ''

Footlight Parade ''Footlight Parade'' is a 1933 pre-Code American musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon, with songs written by Harry Warren (music), Al Dubin (lyrics), Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreograp ...

'' which was a film for which, according to the good folks at tcm.com, she had done at least one 'Publicity Still'Footlight Parade - Starlet Publicity Stills
/ref> * The release on April 27, 1934, ''

Twenty Million Sweethearts ''Twenty Million Sweethearts'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright and starring Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, and the Mills Brothers. The film was remade in 1949 as '' My Dream Is Yours''. Plot Ag ...

'' * The release on August 16, 1934, ''

Dames ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title ''Da ...

'' * The release on September 7, 1935, '' Redheads On Parade'' * The release on April 8, 1936, ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, Adele 1910 births 1953 deaths American film actresses Actresses from Minneapolis American people of Norwegian descent 20th-century American actresses