Iris Adrian

Iris Adrian Hostetter[1] (May 29, 1912 – September 17, 1994) was an American stage, film actress and dancer.[2]

Iris Adrian
from the film Lady of Burlesque (1943)
Born
Iris Adrian Hostetter

(1912-05-29)May 29, 1912
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 17, 1994(1994-09-17) (aged 82)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
OccupationActress, dancer
Years active1928–1980
Spouse(s)
Charles Over
​
​
(m. 1935; div. 1936)​

George Jay
​
​
(m. 1943; div. 1945)​

Dan Schoonmaker
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1949)​

Ray F. Murphy (1950 - 1983; his death)

Life and career

Adrian was an only child, born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence (née Van Every) and Adrian Earl Hostetter, who wed in 1909 in Los Angeles.[3] She was raised by her single mother in Los Angeles. She was a graduate of Hollywood High School.[4]

Adrian won a beauty pageant, worked with the Ziegfeld Follies,[5] and performed with Fred Waring[6] before she entered films at the end of the silent era in Chasing Husbands (1928) and appeared as an extra or chorus girl in early sound films like Paramount on Parade (1930).

During the 1930s she specialised in playing hard-boiled gals, glamorous gold-diggers, and gangsters' "molls". She played supporting roles in numerous features. She played "Gee-Gee Graham" in Lady of Burlesque. In the Jerry Lewis comedy, The Errand Boy, she played a glamorous movie star "Anastasia Anastasia", whose on-set birthday party is wrecked by Lewis's shenanigans. She appeared on several radio programs, including the Abbott and Costello Show.

She acted regularly, albeit without achieving star status, and by the end of the 1960s had appeared in more than one hundred films. In her later years she appeared in several Walt Disney films, including That Darn Cat!, The Love Bug, The Shaggy D.A., Freaky Friday, and No Deposit, No Return. Disney director Robert Stevenson considered Adrian his "good-luck charm". On television, she was a member of the cast of the unsuccessful situation comedy The Ted Knight Show in the spring of 1978. She also played numerous guest roles in television series such as Get Smart, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, The Munsters, The Love Boat, The Lucy Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Jack Benny Show.

Personal life

Adrian was married to Charles Over from 1935 to 1936; the marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage, to George Jay, also ended in divorce. On September 24, 1949, she married Dan Schoonmaker, a camera manufacturer, in Las Vegas.[7] They separated two months later[8] and were divorced on September 14, 1950, in Juarez.[9] Her fourth and final marriage was to football player Ray (Fido) Murphy, and lasted more than 30 years until his death in 1983.

None of the marriages produced children.

Death

Adrian died in Los Angeles, from injuries sustained during the 1994 Northridge earthquake eight months earlier.[10] Her ashes are within the Columbarium of Radiant Dawn[11] at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.[12]

Filmography

Features

Short subjects
  • Chasing Husbands (1928)
  • Whirls and Girls (1929) as 4th Girl (unconfirmed)
  • The Freshman's Goat 20 min.. (1930)
  • Don't Give Up (1930)
  • College Cuties 19 min. (1930) as Iris
  • Man to Man (1937)
  • How to Clean House 18 min. (1948) as Isabella, The Maid
  • Foy Meets Girl 17 min. (1950)
  • Heebie Gee-Gees (1952) as Wally's Wife
  • So You Want To Know Your Relatives 10 min. (1954) as Bubbles LaVonne (uncredited)
  • So You Want to Be Pretty 10 min. (1956) as Mabel - Nurse (uncredited)

Sources
  • Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924-1984. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999; ISBN 0-7864-0351-9
  • Cocchi, John. "The Films of Iris Adrian, 1972", The Real Stars. Curtis Books, 1973
  • Maltin, Leonard."Interviews with Iris Adrian, 1972-73", The Real Stars 2, Curtis Books, 1973 OCLC 801245658

References
  1. Room, Adrian (2014). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  2. Iris Adrian filmography, nytimes.com; retrieved October 10, 2014.
  3. "FamilySearch".
  4. "Leaves Hollywood, Makes Good in East". Jefferson City Post-Tribune. Missouri, Jefferson City. United Press. October 15, 1934. p. 4. Retrieved July 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Now in Follies". The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah, Salt Lake City. August 2, 1931. p. 28. Retrieved July 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Folkart, Burt A. (September 22, 1994). "Iris Adrian, Actress Who Played 'Toughs'". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. A 20. Retrieved December 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Iris Adrian Married". The San Francisco Examiner. California, San Francisco. International News Service. October 7, 1949. p. 4. Retrieved December 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Iris Adrian Leaves Hubby". Long Beach Independent. California, Long Beach. International News Service. November 26, 1949. p. 11. Retrieved December 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Husband Divorces Actress In Juarez". El Paso Times. Texas, El Paso. September 15, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved December 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Obituary: Iris Adrian, independent.co.uk; accessed October 10, 2014.
  11. Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  12. Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 79. ISBN 9780786409839. Retrieved January 11, 2019.

Further reading
  • Young, Jordan R. (1986) [First published 1975]. "Iris Adrian". Reel Characters : Great Movie Character Actors (softcover) (Sixth ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Moonstone Press. pp. 29–42. ISBN 978-0-940410-79-4.
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