Product Code Database
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, in circus, vaudeville, theatre, television and film. She was best known for her role as showgirl Trixie O'Toole in the 1970s soap opera Number 96.
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.
Subsequent to this, she was spotted by Number 96 producer Bill Harmon in a pantomime show and he devised the recurring character of Trixie O'Toole – a warm and funny vaudevillian showgirl 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. She often shared scenes with co-stars Wendy Blacklock and Mike Dorsey.
In the late 1970s, Adele was a frequent comedy performer on The Mike Walsh Show. She was also a frequent guest on Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton. Later television guest credits included Bony (1992), Heartbreak High (1994), Home and Away and 42nd Street.
| 1977 | Jan Adele | Mo Awards | Comedian of the Year | |
| 1982 | Jan Adele and Lucky Grills – Fun Follies | Mo Awards | Variety Show of the Year | |
| 1987 | High Tide | AACTA Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| 1960 | The Bobby Limb Show | Guest performer | |
| The Joe Martin Show | Guest performer | ||
| 1969 | In Melbourne Tonight | Guest performer | 6 episodes |
| 1969–1985 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest performer | |
| 1971–1972 | The Bob Rogers Show | Guest performer | |
| 1973 | Homicide | 1 episode | |
| 1974 | Division 4 | 1 episode | |
| 1974–1975 | Number 96 | Trixie O'Toole | 63 episodes |
| 1976 | Mummy and Me | TV pilot | |
| 1978 | Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks | Panelist | |
| 1981 | Personality Squares | Contestant | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Blankety Blanks | Contestant | 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Have a Go | Guest judge | 6 episodes |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | Mrs. Gunning | 1 episode |
| 1990 | Home and Away | Helen Cody | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | A Country Practice | Mrs. Howie | 1 episode |
| The Miraculous Mellops | Customer | 2 episodes | |
| 1992 | Bony | Mrs. Adele | 1 episode |
| 1994 | Heartbreak High | Ruby | 26 episodes |
| UNSW, Old Tote Parade Theatre, Sydney |
| Palais Royale, Newcastle, NSW tour with Vidette Productions |
| Rockdale Town Hall, Sydney |
| Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney |
| Q Theatre, Penrith |
| Paddington-Woollahra RSL |
| His Majesty's Theatre, Perth with Western Australian Theatre Company |
| Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide |
| Tilbury Hotel, Sydney, Queanbeyan School of Arts Cafe |
| La Mama, Melbourne with Edgley International |
| Theatre Royal, Hobart |
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