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Adele Jergens
1917-2002
Updated 2/14/2009 with more films available on DVD.
biography
Born in Brooklyn on November 26, 1917 (some sources cite 1919 and 1922), beautiful Adele Jergens first rose to prominence in the late 1930s, when she was named "Miss World's Fairest" at the 1939 World's Fair, held in New York. After a few years of working as a model and chorus girl, Jergens landed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1944. One of the first changes Columbia made was to bleach Jergens' brunette hair blond. After a few small roles, Jergens landed a starring role in the 1945 film A Thousand and One Nights opposite Cornel Wilde. The studio tended to cast her in comedies such as The Corpse Came C.O.D. (1947); The Fuller Brush Man (1948); and Beware of Blondie (1950; with Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton). In 1949, Jergens married actor Glenn Langan, whom she met on the set of Treasure of Monte Cristo.
LEFT: Mid 1940s Columbia promotional photo of Adele Jergens. RIGHT: Handsome 1940s portrait of Jergens' husband, Glenn Langan. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1991. Langan is best known for his role as Glenn Manning from The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)
Jergens freelanced extensively after her contract with Columbia lapsed in 1950, doing fewer comedies and more film noir. Some of her best films from this period include Side Street (1950; with Farley Granger); Edge of Doom (1950; with Farley Granger); Fireman Save My Child (1954; with Hugh O'Brian), and The Day the World Ended (1956; with Lori Nelson).
the films of adele jergens
A Thousand and One Nights (1945)
From the Columbia adventure A Thousand and One Nights. LEFT: Glamorous publicity photo. CENTER A, B, C, and RIGHT: With co-star Cornel Wilde
Down to Earth (1947)
Promotional photo from the Technicolor musical Down to Earth
Ladies of the Chorus (1948)
In a strange bit of casting, Jergens portrays Marilyn Monroe's mother in Columbia's Ladies of the Chorus. Jergens was Monroe's senior by just nine years
Armored Car Robbery (1950)
From RKO's film noir release Armored Car Robbery
Sugarfoot (1951)
From the Warner Bros. western Sugarfoot with Randolph Scott
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
Jergens looks sexy in these promotional photos from Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
The Cobweb (1955)
Jergens had a supporting role in the MGM drama The Cobweb
The Day the World Ended (1956)
With Mike Connors in Roger Corman's apocalyptic sci-fi effort The Day the World Ended. This was one of Jergen's last films
later years
After the release of Runaway Daughters (1956), Adele Jergens retired from the screen to raise her son and pursue other interests. Her husband Glenn Langan also retired from the screen around this time, after the release of The Amazing Colossal Man (1957). Langan went into the construction business and passed away in 1991. Adele Jergens passed away on November 22, 2002, at the age of 84.
They Live By Night (1949)/Side Street [DVD](1950) DVD
Director Nicholas Ray's first effort, "They Live by Night," is an expressionistic blend of melodrama and film noir, with Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell as two naive young lovers whose entanglement in a web of hardened criminals destines them for tragedy. Based on the novel "Thieves Like Us" by Edward Anderson; with Howard Da Silva, Jay C. Flippen. And, "Side Street" stars Granger as a down-and-out New York mailman with a pregnant wife who steals $30,000 from a pair of blackmailers in an act of impulsive desperation. After his conscience starts to get to him, Granger decides to give the money back but winds up knee deep in danger when the friend he asked to hold the cash disappears. O'Donnell, James Craig also star. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), French.
Show Boat [DVD](1951) DVD
Spectacular MGM rendition of the beloved Hammerstein-Kern tale of show folk, gamblers and steamboats along the old Mississippi. The cast includes Howard Keel, Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson and Joe E. Brown as Captain Andy, with songs like "Where's the Mate for Me?," "Can't Help Lovin' that Man," and "Ol' Man River." 108 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; theatrical trailer; interactive menus; scene access.
The Lonesome Trail (1955)/The Silver Star [DVD](1955) DVD
First, Johnny Rush (John Agar) is made to walk "The Lonesome Trail" when he returns from the Indian Wars to find his home taken over by a cattle baron who also has designs on his beloved. Wayne Morris, Margia Dean also star. Next, a sheriff (Earle Lyon) must overcome his fears and live up to "The Silver Star" when three brutal outlaws demand he leave town. Marie Windsor, Lon Chaney, Jr. also star. 146 min. total. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo.
Day The World Ended (1956)/The She-Creature [DVD](1956) DVD
First, Roger Corman's $65,000 apocalypse epic "Day the World Ended" centers on the seven survivors of a nuclear holocaust who seek refuge in a cave and find themselves battling each other and the mutant animals that lurk outside. Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Touch (Mike) Connors star. Then, a hypnotist turns his assistant into "The She-Creature," a deadly prehistoric female he plans on using to kill his enemies. Chester Morris, Marla English, Tom Conway star. 159 min. total. Widescreen/Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
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filmography
FILM
The Day the World Ended (1956) with Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, and Mike Connors
Girls in Prison (1956) with Richard Denning, Lance Fuller, and Phyllis Coates
Runaway Daughters (1956) with Marla English, Lance Fuller, and Frank Gorshin
Fighting Trouble (1956) with Huntz Hall
The Lonesome Trail (1955) with John Agar, Edgar Buchanan, and Wayne Morris
The Cobweb (1955) with Richard Widmark, Lauren Bacall, Gloria Grahame, Charles Boyer, Lillian Gish, Susan Strasberg, Oscar Levant, and Tommy Rettig
Outlaw Treasure (1955) with Glenn Langan
Strange Lady in Town (1955) with Greer Garson, Dana Andrews, Cameron Mitchell, Russell Johnson, Gregory Walcott, and Nick Adams
The Big Chase (1954) with Glenn Langan, Jim Davis, and Lon Chaney Jr.
The Miami Story (1954) with Barry Sullivan and Beverly Garland
Overland Pacific (1954) with Jock Mahoney and Peggie Castle
Fireman Save My Child (1954) with Hugh O'Brian, Buddy Hackett, and Spike Jones
Somebody Loves Me (1952) with Betty Hutton and Ralph Meeker
Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952) with Alan Young, Dinah Shore, Minerva Urecal, Veda Ann Borg, and Chick Chandler
Sugarfoot (1951) with Randolph Scott and Raymond Massey
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Arthur Franz, Sheldon Leonard, and William Frawley
Show Boat (1951) with Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, and Leif Erickson
Armored Car Robbery (1950) with Charles McGraw, William Talman, and Steve Brodie
Beware of Blondie (1950) with Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake; the final film in the long-running Blondie series
Radar Secret Service (1950) with John Howard, Tom Neal, and Ralph Byrd
The Sound of Fury (1950) with Richard Carlson, Frank Lovejoy, Kathleen Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, and Irene Vernon
Traveling Saleswoman (1950) with Joan Davis and Andy Devine
Blues Busters (1950) with Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Craig Stevens, and Phyllis Coates
Edge of Doom (1950) with Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, and Mala Powers
Everybody's Dancin' (1950) with Lyle Talbot and Sid Melton
Side Street (1950) with Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, Jean Hagen, James Craig, Paul Kelly, Charles McGraw, and Whit Bissell
Blonde Dynamite (1950) with Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall
Make Believe Ballroom (1949) with Ruth Warrick, Kay Starr, and Nat 'King' Cole
Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949) with Glenn Langan and Steve Brodie
The Mutineers (1949) with Jon Hall, George Reeves, and Lyle Talbot
The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949) with Warner Baxter, Lois Maxwell, Robert Armstrong, and Whit Bissell
Law of the Barbary Coast (1949) with Gloria Henry and Robert Shayne
Slightly French (1949) with Dorothy Lamour and Don Ameche
The Woman from Tangier (1948) with Stephen Dunne
The Dark Past (1948) with William Holden, Lois Maxwell, Lee J. Cobb, and Nina Foch
Ladies of the Chorus (1948) with Marilyn Monroe
The Fuller Brush Man (1948) with Red Skelton and Hillary Brooke
The Prince of Thieves (1948) with Jon Hall and Patricia Morison
I Love Trouble (1948) with Franchot Tone, Raymond Burr, Janet Blair, Janis Carter, Glenda Farrell, and John Ireland
Blondie's Anniversary (1947) with Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake
When a Girl's Beautiful (1947) with Peggie Castle
Down to Earth (1947) with Rita Hayworth
The Corpse Came C.O.D. (1947) with George Brent and Joan Blondell
She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945) with Rosalind Russell
A Thousand and One Nights (1945) with Cornel Wilde and Evelyn Keyes
Black Arrow (1944) with Robert Scott and Charles Middleton
TELEVISION SERIES
Pantomime Quiz, 1947-1963 TV series airing on four different networks during different seasons (ABC, DuMont, NBC, and CBS). Jergens was a regular from 1950 through 1952.
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This page premiered October 8, 2002.
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