Adele DeGarde

Adele DeGarde

c1909
Born Adelaide De Gard
May 3, 1899
Brooklyn, New York
Died November 1972
Brooklyn, New York
Other names Adele De Garde
Occupation Actor
Years active 1908-1918
Spouse(s) Harry Jespersen

Adele DeGarde (1899 1972),[1] aka Adele De Garde, was an American silent film actress, who appeared in 114 films between 1908 and 1918.

Born Adelaide De Gard in Brooklyn, New York, DeGarde was a Biograph Studios child star in the early part of the 20th century. Later she became a Vitagraph Studios leading lady.

In 1939, she attended an Old Home Week at Ohrbach's in New York with other movie actors such as Mae Murray and June Elvidge.[2]

Career

In 1908, when pictures were looked at with a bit of apprehension, DeGarde (at the age of eight) began to appear in Vitagraph Studios. And DeGarde and her little pal, Kenneth Casey, were the mischievous, spoiled, or ill-treated children around whom centered many a melodramatic plot. As new stars joined the Vitagraph forces, DeGarde and Kenneth played with them. Many a picture of the "two-generation" or "from-child-to-woman" type would open with DeGarde as its child heroine and finish with Leah Baird, Edith Storey, or Dorothy Kelly rounding out the plot when the child had grown up. If the good old days had been in the year 1918, we would have read about Kenneth Casey and DeGarde, co-stars, but their popularity and appeal suffered none whatsoever because of the fact that they were not heralded as co-stars. Many a Bunny comedy and many a Williams drama have been lightened effectively because of the two irrepressible ones. As the years grew, so did DeGarde, until finally she grew too large for little-girl-before-growing-up parts, and, with many sighs, her directors were forced to "pass her up" and cast anxious glances around for another promising child. Loath to part with their two clever little players, the company produced some exceedingly funny pictures enacted entirely by children about fourteen or fifteen. These comedies — for they were comedies — proved extremely popular, because of the fact that they were so typical of children at that age. And so the years flew, until DeGarde had outgrown even these kinds of parts. About a year ago, when Vitagraph was casting Within the Law, they were a trifle at a loss as to whom they should give the part of Aggie Lynch, a vivacious little parasite, a character on whom all the comedy relief of the play was dependent. After a careful study of the part, it was determined that DeGarde should have it, and those of you who have seen the Vitagraph Blue Ribbon Within the Law know how ably she portrayed the part. Hard-hearted New York press critics had nothing but lavish praise for her delineation of Aggie Lynch and pronounced it "a huge success," declaring that her portrayal equaled that of any of the well-known actresses who essayed the role on the legitimate stage. DeGarde was forced to delineate the character without the assistance of the witty and slangy lines that the stage made possible, but she "got it across in such a manner that even press critics had naught but good to say. DeGarde was the newest "O. Henry" girl, having given a most successful interpretation to the ingénue part in Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking.[3]

Reviews for Within the Law

Filmography

Adele DeGarde (1917)
  • A Geranium (1911)
  • The Long Skirt (1911)
  • Cherry Blossoms (1911)
  • The Child Crusoes (1911)
  • An Answered Prayer (1911)
  • Carr's Regeneration (1911)
  • By Way of Mrs. Browning (1911)
  • The Trail of Books (1911)
  • Suffer Little Children (1911)
  • The Miser's Heart (1911)
  • The Voiceless Message (1911)
  • Saving the Special (1911)
  • The Voice of the Child (1911)
  • A Doubly Desired Orphan (1911)
  • The Chocolate Revolver (1912)
  • The Five Senses (1912)
  • The Black Wall (1912)
  • The Old Silver Watch (1912)
  • The Governor Who Had a Heart (1912)
  • The Old Kent Road (1912)
  • The Man Under the Bed (1912)
  • The Light that Failed (1912)
  • Ingenuity (1912)
  • Vultures and Doves (1912)
  • The Mills of the Gods (1912)
  • Three Girls and a Man (1912)
  • The Eavesdropper (1912)
  • Thou Shalt Not Kill (1913)
  • When Bobby Forgot (1913)
  • A Birthday Gift (1913)
  • Dick, the Dead Shot (1913)
  • The Only Veteran in Town (1913)
  • The Widower's Quest (1913)
  • The Lion's Bride (1913)
  • Buddy's Downfall (1914)
  • Buddy's First Call (1914)
  • Mr. Barnes of New York (1914)
  • A Pillar of Flame (1915)
  • Insuring Cutey (1915)
  • Rags and the Girl (1915)
  • The Ruling Power (1915)
  • Saints and Sinners (1915)
  • Green Stockings (1916)
  • Tubby Turns the Tables (1916)
  • Myrtle the Manicurist (1916)
  • Lights of New York (1916)
  • Help! Help! Help! (1916)
  • Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking (1917)
  • Within the Law (1917)
  • The Love Doctor (1917)
  • The Bottom of the Well (1917)
  • The Purple Dress (1918)
  • The Rathskeller and the Rose (1918)
  • The Triumph of the Weak (1918)
  • The Enchanted Profile (1918)

References

  1. "Profile of Adele DeGarde". Young Hollywood Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  2. Reno Evening Gazette. Associated Press. March 25, 1939.
  3. ""Where Are You Going, My Pretty Maid?" "I'm Going A-Filming," DeGarde Said". Motion Picture Magazine. May 1918. (Note: Out of copyright)
  4. "Review for Within the Law". Variety. May 4, 1917.
  5. "Review for Within the Law". Moving Picture World. May 19, 1917.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adele DeGarde.