Janet Adair (c. â€" November ) was an American vaudeville, ragtime,
musical revue and musical comedy performer in the early twentieth
century, who also appeared in movies.Adair was born in St. Louis,
Missouri, in about . She worked as a stenographer in that city until,
during a party in to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, she
reportedly accepted a dare to perform her character songs on stage.
She was quickly engaged by St. Louis theatre manager Dan Fishell, and
performed at moving picture theatres and in vaudeville shows in
Missouri and nearby states, including Kentucky, Texas, Michigan, and
Arkansas. She performed with accompanists Hazel Hickey (until ) and
Emily or Emma Adelphi (later Mrs Jack Norworth) (from ). She toured
nationally, and to Canada, and frequently headlined variety
shows.Reviewers described Adair as "one of those few who have the
singular attraction of personality combined with voice and action ..
truly a comedienne"; "Diminutive and childlike Miss Adair "puts over"
her songs in a fashion that is irresistible"; "an excellent imitator";
"an irresistibly fascinating adorably clever young lady ... [with] the
atmosphere about her that gets right over the footlights ... Some call
it personality, and others call it pep; but whatever it is, she has it
in carload lots." Her songs, which she called "song definitions", were
described as "satires of various personages easily recognizable ..
clever jabs at certain phases of domestic and social life".
musical revue and musical comedy performer in the early twentieth
century, who also appeared in movies.Adair was born in St. Louis,
Missouri, in about . She worked as a stenographer in that city until,
during a party in to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, she
reportedly accepted a dare to perform her character songs on stage.
She was quickly engaged by St. Louis theatre manager Dan Fishell, and
performed at moving picture theatres and in vaudeville shows in
Missouri and nearby states, including Kentucky, Texas, Michigan, and
Arkansas. She performed with accompanists Hazel Hickey (until ) and
Emily or Emma Adelphi (later Mrs Jack Norworth) (from ). She toured
nationally, and to Canada, and frequently headlined variety
shows.Reviewers described Adair as "one of those few who have the
singular attraction of personality combined with voice and action ..
truly a comedienne"; "Diminutive and childlike Miss Adair "puts over"
her songs in a fashion that is irresistible"; "an excellent imitator";
"an irresistibly fascinating adorably clever young lady ... [with] the
atmosphere about her that gets right over the footlights ... Some call
it personality, and others call it pep; but whatever it is, she has it
in carload lots." Her songs, which she called "song definitions", were
described as "satires of various personages easily recognizable ..
clever jabs at certain phases of domestic and social life".
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