biography

Adele Jergens Born in Brooklyn on November 26, 1917 (some sources cite 1919 and 1922), beautiful actress 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; with George Brent and Joan Blondell); The Fuller Brush Man (1948; with Red Skelton); 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 (1949; with Steve Brodie).

Adele JergensGlenn Langan

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 and Mike Connors).

the films of adele jergens

A Thousand and One Nights (1945)

Adele JergensAdele Jergens and Cornel WildeAdele Jergens and Cornel WildeAdele Jergens and Cornel WildeAdele Jergens and Cornel Wilde

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)

Adele Jergens

Promotional photo from the Technicolor musical Down to Earth

Ladies of the Chorus (1948)

Adele Jergens and Marilyn MonroeAdele Jergens and Marilyn Monroe

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

The Mutineers (1949)

Jon Hall and Adele Jergens

With Jon Hall in Columbia's second feature adventure The Mutineers

Armored Car Robbery (1950)

Adele Jergens

From RKO's film noir release Armored Car Robbery

Edge of Doom (1950)

Farley Granger and Adele Jergens

With Farley Granger in the RKO noir thriller Edge of Doom

Sugarfoot (1951)

Adele Jergens and Randolph Scott

From the Warner Bros. western Sugarfoot with Randolph Scott

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)

Adele JergensAdele JergensAdele Jergens

Jergens looks sexy in these promotional photos from Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man

The Cobweb (1955)

Adele Jergens

Jergens had a supporting role in the MGM drama The Cobweb

The Day the World Ended (1956)

Adele Jergens and Mike Connors

With Mike Connors in Roger Corman's apocalyptic sci-fi effort The Day the World Ended. This was one of Jergen's last films

Runaway Daughters (1956)

Lance Fuller and Adele Jergens

With Lance Fuller in the American International teen torment feature Runaway Daughters

later years

After the release of Runaway Daughters (1956; with Marla English and Lance Fuller), 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. Her son, Tracy, passed away from cancer in 2001 at age 48.

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.

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
Soldiers of Fortune, episode The Danger Sisters, originally aired December 2, 1956
Damon Runyon Theater, episode Judy the Jinx, originally aired December 31, 1955
My Favorite Husband, episode The Painting, originally aired November 29, 1955
Damon Runyon Theater, episode Teacher's Pet, originally aired July 2, 1955
I Married Joan, episode Clothes Budget, originally aired November 3, 1954
The Public Defender, episode Lost Cause, originally aired March 25, 1954
I Married Joan, episode Home of the Week, originally aired March 17, 1954
The Ford Television Theatre, episode The People Versus Johnston, originally aired June 25, 1953
Dangerous Assignment, episode The Lagoon Story, originally aired April 28, 1952
Dangerous Assignment, episode The Art Treasure Story, originally aired March 17, 1952
Racket Squad, episode The Case of the Hearse Chasers, originally aired February 28, 1952
Stars Over Hollywood, episode Yang Yin and Mrs. Wiswell, originally aired January 17, 1951

adele jergens trailers now showing

Watch the trailer for Adele Jergens' 1956 sci-fi film The Day the World Ended

adele jergens television appearances

Watch Adele Jergens in a 1952 episode of Dangerous Assignment titled The Art Treasure Story
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This page premiered October 8, 2002.
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