Adelaide Klein
Adelaide Klein (1900–1983) was an actress who performed on radio, television, films, and the stage. She was best known for her dialects as a radio performer. Over the course of her thirty-year career, Klein performed in radio comedies and soap operas, appeared in eight shows on Broadway, four films, and on thirteen television series. She died at the age of 82 in 1983.
Early life
Klein was born in New York City on July 8, 1900.[1] Her parents were Morris Klein and Sophia Klein. She had two siblings: an older brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Irene.
Career
Klein began her radio as a singer in the late 1920s. However, demand for her talents with dialect and as a character actress led her to acting full-time by 1933.[2]
Klein performed in a variety of radio programs, including roles in Terry and the Pirates, Meet Mr. Meek, We, The Abbotts, The House on Q Street, and Sometime Before Morning.[3] Klein was best known for her use of dialects in radio performances.
Klein's radio performances led to performances on stage. Klein had roles in eight Broadway productions, including Brooklyn, U.S.A. (1942), Uncle Harry (1942), The Immoralist (1954), and Jane Eyre (1958). Her film credits included The Naked City (1948) and The Enforcer (1951). She was signed to play the role of Martha in director Otto Preminger's Where the Sidewalk Ends and scenes were shot in New York City, but the role was ultimately played by another actress.[4]
Klein had roles on numerous television shows, including The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse (1949), Studio One in Hollywood (1949), The Ford Theatre Hour (1950), and The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse (1950).[5]
Blacklist
In the mid-1940s, Klein was active in the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) and served as a delegate for New York at national conferences in 1943 and 1944.[6] Klein was one of 56 delegates for New York at national conferences in 1943 and 1944, where she worked with other progressives, including Donna Keath, Minerva Pious, Ann Shepherd, Selena Royle, and Hester Sondergaard.[6][7]
Along with Keath, Pious, Shepherd, Royle, Sondergaard, Klein was listed in the blacklisting publication, Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television in 1950. She continued to perform in theatre, but television roles dried up as a consequence of Klein being labelled a communist.[8]
Personal life
Klein married Louis S. Wettels in Manhattan in the late 1920s. She later married Norman Annenberg. Klein died of a brain tumor on March 18, 1983. She was 82 years old.[1]
Filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1948 | The Naked City | Mrs. Batory | |
1949 | C-Man | Minnie Hoffman | |
1951 | The Enforcer | Olga Kirshen | |
1964 | The Troublemaker | Psychiatrist | (final film role) |
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1949 | Suspense | Mrs. Broder | Episode: "Collector's Item" |
1949 | The Big Story | Episode: "Frank Shenkel of the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph" | |
1949 | The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse | Episode: "Mad Illusion" | |
1949 | Studio One in Hollywood | Mrs. Bruhl / Psychotic Woman | 2 episodes |
1949-1951 | The Clock | 2 episodes | |
1950 | The Ford Theatre Hour | Maw | Episode: "The Barker" |
1950 | The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse | Episode: "The End Is Known" | |
1950 | Hands of Mystery | 2 episodes | |
1950 | The Web | Episode: "Blessed Are the Meek" | |
1951 | Two Girls Named Smith | Landlady | Episode: "Premier" |
1951 | Somerset Maugham TV Theatre | Episode: "Appearances and Reality" | |
1951-1952 | Lights Out | Mrs. Manifold | 2 episodes |
1958 | Decoy | Mrs. Kramer | Episode: "The Lost Ones" |
Broadway
- Double Dummy (November 11, 1936 – December 1936)
- Brooklyn, U.S.A. (December 21, 1941 – February 7, 1942)
- Uncle Harry (May 20, 1942 – May 9, 1943)
- Collector’s Item (February 8, 1952 – February 9, 1952)
- The Immoralist (February 8, 1954 – May 1, 1954)
- Once Upon A Tailor (May 23, 1955 – May 28, 1955)
- Jane Eyre (May 1, 1958 – June 14, 1958)
- Marathon ‘33 (December 22, 1963 – February 1, 1964)
References
- ^ a b "Memorial Service Scheduled For Adelaide Klein, Actress". Retrieved 2018-09-14.
- ^ "What Does the Listener Want In Programs?". Dayton Daily News. Ohio, Dayton. September 10, 1933. p. 13. Retrieved September 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas.
- ^ Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), retrieved 2018-11-25
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (2003). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948–1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. pp. 25–26. ISBN 9780786414208. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ a b ""The Billboard AFRA Convention Pix"". The Billboard: 13. September 9, 1944 – via Google Books.
- ^ Frohlich, Shirley (April 17, 1943). ""Air Fraternity Gathers Coin from Field Which Once Gave Mikes Cold Shoulder Routine"". The Billboard: 1 – via Google Books.
- ^ The American Business Consultants (1950). Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence on Radio and Television. New York City: Self-published.