Adele Jergens
Actress

Adele Jergens Net Worth

Adele Jergens was born on November 26, 1917 in  Brooklyn, New York, United States, is Actress, Soundtrack. Fewer dames were tougher on the 40s and 50s screen than leggy (5'9") "B" star Adele Jergens, the tough-talking, plump-cheeked peroxide blonde who gave her fair share of tawdry trouble in backstage dramas, film noir, crime potboilers, and adventure yarns. She was just as headstrong at trying to bust out of the chorus lines and cheesecake parts to become a topnotch "A" actress draw. She failed in the latter but nevertheless left a respectable Hollywood legacy for the host of hard-as-nails babes that did leave an impression.Born on November 26, 1917, in Brooklyn New York, the youngest of four to working class Norwegian parents, she was christened Adele Louisa Jurgens (some sources say Jurgenson) and started her youth as a sports-minded tomboy before setting her young teen sights on an entertainment career as a dancer. After years of study (she earned a scholarship) at a Manhattan dance studio and following her graduation from Grover Cleveland High School, the knockout-looking 18-year-old found her way into the Broadway chorus line (billed as Adele Jurgens, her real name) of the Moss Hart/Cole Porter musical "Jubilee!," which introduced the classic Porter songs "Begin the Beguine" and "Just One of Those Things" and starred Melvin Cooper and Mary Boland as the King and Queen and a young Montgomery Clift as Prince Peter.The John Robert Powers Agency saw in Adele top runway model potential and quickly signed up the gorgeous girl and her gams. She willingly played the starlet game by being squired around town by big Broadway stars and handsome male eligibles, and finding promotional titles to further attract pin-up attention -- "Miss World's Fairest" at the New York 1939 World's Fair, as well as "The Champagne Blonde" and "The Girl with the Million Dollar Legs". She was even dubbed "The Number One Showgirl in New York City" at one point. By this time she had revised the spelling of her last name for the stage (Jergens). In between modeling assignments, Adele found dance work in other in cabaret revues, nightclubs, in the Rockette chorus line, and in such Broadway shows as Cole Porter's "Leave It to Me!" (1938) again starring Gaxton and Moore and co-starring "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" singing star Mary Martin; Cole Porter's "DuBarry Was a Lady" (1939) with Ethel Merman belting out "Well, Did You Evah?" and "Friendship"; "Louisiana Purchase" (in a replacement role) (1940), "Banjo Eyes" (1941) starring Eddie Cantor and the burlesque revue "Star and Garter" (1942) in which Adele had a featured role while understudying one of its headliners, Gypsy Rose Lee. She went on for Ms. Lee, Hollywood took immediate notice with Twentieth Century-Fox signing her up.Adele started at the bottom rung at Fox with the usual decorative showgirl or good time girl parts in the musicals Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943), The Gang's All Here (1943) and Pin Up Girl (1944). When Fox dropped her option she was snatched up by Columbia in a seven-year contract. After minor parts again in the musicals Dancing in Manhattan (1944), Tonight and Every Night (1945) and State Fair (1945), she was entrusted with the lead femme role as Princess Armina of Baghdad in the Eastern adventure _A Thousand and One Nights (1945) starring Phil Silvers and handsome Cornel Wilde as Aladdin. She also displayed a brusque comic flair as the aptly-named Allura in the Rosalind Russell comedy She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945) as an hilariously-accented blonde briefly competing for Russell's man Lee Bowman. Adele also top-lined her own musical albeit the quickly forgotten When a Girl's Beautiful (1947) which co-starred Marc Platt and Stephen Dunne.After a lull, the former WWII pin-up (once nick-named "The All-American Girl" by the men of the 504th parachute infantry) was now being billed by Columbia as "The Eyeful" and returned to the musical genre with the fantasy Down to Earth (1947). Rita Hayworth plays a heavenly muse who, disturbed by a Broadway musical below the clouds that is mocking Greek mythology. Turning mortal, she takes things in her own hands by turning mortal and (not easily) replacing the show's tough-talking original goddess Adele Jergens in order to manipulate the proceedings. Adele gets to tap and sing (dubbed by Kay Starr) before she is fired.Outside of musicals, the hard-looking blonde (especially when her hair was let down), Adele started making headway in crime dramas and film noir starting with a nifty featured role as a glamour girl in The Corpse Came C.O.D. (1947). She followed that with hard-boiled roles in I Love Trouble (1948), The Dark Past (1948), Edge of Doom (1950), Armored Car Robbery (1950) and Side Street (1950). For the most part, however, it was the usual over-served hash that, while keeping her busy, also kept her locked in the "B" support ranks -- The Prince of Thieves (1948), Law of the Barbary Coast (1949), Slightly French (1949), Make Believe Ballroom (1949), Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952), Somebody Loves Me (1952) -- when not leading in inconsequential material such as Ladies of the Chorus (1948) (as Marilyn's Monroe's mom), The Mutineers (1949), The Woman from Tangier (1948), The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949) and the serial Radar Secret Service (1950).Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949) was notable for the casting of Adele and future husband Glenn Langan. One might think that gorgeous Adele would end up a divorcée many times over, but she and Langan, who wed on October 6, 1951, stayed married until his death almost 40 years later. The 1950s, following good parts (Sugarfoot (1951)) but far more routine ones (Beware of Blondie (1950), The Traveling Saleswoman (1950), Blues Busters (1950)), Adele moved into TV work. After having son Tracy in 1953, Adele took a brief break from her career, then resumed it and found work on such programs as "Dangerous Assignment," "The Abbott & Costello Show," "Mr. and Mrs. North," "Make Room for Daddy," "The Public Defender," "I Married Joan," "My Favorite Husband" and "The Burns & Allen Show". Co-starring on film with husband Langan again in The Big Chase (1954), Adele worked for a couple more years then left the business as the quality of her movies diminished with tawdry roles in Fireman Save My Child (1954), The Miami Story (1954), The Lonesome Trail (1955), Girls in Prison (1956) and Runaway Daughters (1956). She never returned but husband Langan continued his career until the early 1970s, and he also dabbled in real estate.Glenn Langan died of cancer in 1991 and their only child, 48-year-old Tracy, who had become a film technician, died in 2001 of a brain tumor, which devastated the actress. Her health declined quickly after her son's death; she died the following year of pneumonia on November 22, 2002, just days before her 85th birthday.
Adele Jergens is a member of Actress

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Actress, Soundtrack
Birth Day November 26, 1917
Birth Place  Brooklyn, New York, United States
Age 103 YEARS OLD
Died On November 22, 2002(2002-11-22) (aged 84)\nCamarillo, California, U.S.
Birth Sign Sagittarius
Years active 1943–1956
Spouse(s) Glenn Langan (1949-1991) (his death) 1 child
Children Tracy Langan

💰 Net worth: $100K - $1M

Biography/Timeline

1930

Born in Brooklyn, New York as Adele Louisa Jurgens (some sources say Jurgenson), she rose to prominence in the late 1930s, when she was named "Miss World's Fairest" at the 1939 New York World's Fair. In the early 1940s, she briefly worked as a Rockette, and was named the Number One Showgirl in New York City.

1942

After a few years of working as a model and chorus girl, including being an understudy to Gypsy Rose Lee in the Broadway show Star and Garter in 1942, Jergens landed a movie contract with Columbia Pictures in 1944, with brunette Jergens becoming a blonde.

1947

At the beginning of her career she had roles in movies where she was usually cast as blonde floozies and burlesque Dancers as in Down to Earth starring Rita Hayworth (1947) and The Dark Past starring william Holden (1948).

1948

She played Marilyn Monroe's mother in Ladies of the Chorus (1948) despite being only nine years older than Monroe. She played an exotic Dancer in Armored Car Robbery (1950) and also appeared in the movie Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951).

1955

She had a part in The Cobweb (1955), directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Richard Widmark and Lauren Bacall. She worked in the 1950s radio show Stand By for Crime as 'Glamourpuss' Carol Curtis with her real-life husband Glenn Langan as Chuck Morgan.

1991

In 1949, while filming Treasure of Monte Cristo, a film noir set in San Francisco, she met and married co-star Glenn Langan. They had one child, a son named Tracy Langan, who eventually worked in Hollywood behind the scenes, as a film technician. Jergens and Langan remained married until his death from lymphoma, on January 26, 1991, at age 73. Tracy Langan died of a brain tumor in 2001.

2002

Adele Jergens-Langan, who retired from the screen in 1956, died on November 22, 2002, from pneumonia, in her Camarillo, California home. Her death came just 4 days before her 85th birthday.

Some Adele Jergens images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.