Jan Adele

Janeece Adele (14 April 1935 – 27 February 2000) better known as Jan Adele, was an Australian actress and entertainer with a career spanning over 50 years, active in many fields including circus, vaudeville, theatre, television and film. She was best known for her recurring comedy role of vaudevillian showgirl Trixie O'Toole in the 1970s television soap opera '' Number 96'', usually sharing scenes with co-stars Wendy Blacklock and Mike Dorsey.

Early life

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, 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. After this she performed steadily in vaudeville theatre and as a show girl.

Career

Television

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 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).

Personal life

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.

Awards

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adele, Jan
Australian stage actresses
Australian television actresses
1935 births
2000 deaths
20th-century Australian actresses
Best Supporting Actress AACTA Award winners
21st-century Australian actresses