Stars & Players · Biography

Adele Jergens

1917–2002 · Actress

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

Adele Jergens (November 26, 1917 - November 22, 2002) was an American actress. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jergen's birth date is sometimes listed as 1922. Jergens first 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 worked as a Rockette, and was named the Number One Showgirl in New York City. After a few years of working as a model and chorus girl, including being an understudy to Gypsy Rose Lee, Jergens landed a movie contract with Columbia Pictures in 1944, with brunette Jergens becoming a blonde. Her chorus girl past came in handy when she played an exotic dancer in Armored Car Robbery (1950). She was usually cast as blonde floozies and burlesque dancers. She once played Marilyn Monroe's mother in Ladies of the Chorus (1948) despite the fact that Jergens was only 9 years older than Monroe. In 1949, while filming Treasure of Monte Cristo, a film noir set in San Francisco, she met and married co-star Glenn Langan (The Amazing Colossal Man). They remained married until his death in 1991. Their only child, actor Tracy Langan, predeceased his mother. She is interred in the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

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Notable Noir Roles

The Woman from Tangier

1948Dir. Harold Daniels · Nylon

This one has Nylon, an American dancer fleeing Morocco after her employer gets into trouble with the police, and she stops off at Tangiers on her way to Gibraltar. $50,000, in gold, is stolen from the…

The Dark Past

1948Dir. Rudolph Maté · Laura Stevens

A gang hold a family hostage in their own home. The leader of the escaped cons is bothered by a recurring dream that the doctor of the house may be able to analyze.

Armored Car Robbery

1950Dir. Richard Fleischer · Yvonne LeDoux aka Mrs. Benny McBride

While executing an armored car heist in Los Angeles, icy crook Dave Purvis shoots policeman Lt. Phillips before he and his cronies make off with the loot. Thinking he got away scot-free, Purvis collec…

The Sound of Fury

1950Dir. Cy Endfield · Velma

A family man – desperate for a job – latches onto a friend who encourages him into being a criminal.

Full Noir Filmography

7 films · 1948–1954