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Adele JergensAmerican actress
Date of Birth: 26.11.1917
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Adele Jergens
Adele Jergens was an American actress and heroine of B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. She was dubbed the "Irresistible Woman" by the press agents of Columbia Pictures, and one dance instructor even called her the "woman with million-dollar legs".
Early Life and Career
Adele Jergens was born on November 26, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, although some biographers claim that she was born in 1922. In the late 1930s, Jergens gained fame when she won the title of "Miss World's Fair" at the New York World's Fair, which took place from April 30, 1939, to October 27, 1940. In the early 1940s, Jergens became a dancer in the famous female dance group "The Rockettes", which was founded in 1925 and still exists today. She also became the "number one dancer" among other performers in New York City's entertainment shows and appeared in several Broadway productions from 1939 to 1943. Jergens worked as a model and dancer for several years and even briefly doubled for Gypsy Rose Lee, the burlesque queen who later became a Hollywood actress.
Rise to Fame
In 1944, Jergens signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, and one of the terms was that she had to dye her brunette hair blonde. The transformation added a new level of sex appeal to the actress. She made her film debut in 1943 in the movie "Hello Frisco, Hello" and initially played small, uncredited roles such as Chorister, Party Girl, and Cafeteria Worker. However, by the late 1940s and early 1950s, Jergens started to receive more prominent roles. Her background in dance proved useful when she portrayed the exotic dancer Jean Turner in the crime film "Armored Car Robbery" in 1950. She often played roles of blonde women with a provocative nature and was known for her performances as a showgirl. In the film "Ladies of the Chorus," Jergens even played the mother of Marilyn Monroe's character, despite being only nine years older than the rising Hollywood star.
Later Career and Personal Life
From 1951 onwards, Jergens appeared as a guest star in various television series such as "My Favorite Husband," "Soldiers of Fortune," and "I Married Joan". However, she did not manage to secure a regular role. Throughout her 13-year career from 1943 to 1956, Adele Jergens played 64 roles in movies and on television. In 1949, during the filming of the film "Treasure of Monte Cristo," a film noir set in San Francisco, Jergens met actor Glenn Langan. Langan is best known for his role in the science fiction film "The Amazing Colossal Man" in 1957. They married in 1951 and remained together until Langan's death in 1991. Their son, Tracy Langan, also became an actor. Adele Jergens passed away on November 22, 2002, at the age of 84 in Camarillo, California.
