Iris Adrian(1912-1994)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sugar, Pepper, Pearl, Bunny, Dottie, Ruby, Ginger, Sunny, Goldie, Bubbles, all those are nicknames
borne by petite actress Iris Adrian in several of the 160 movies and television productions she appeared in.
With such names, don't expect to see her playing Joan of Arc or
Electra but it remains that all these pet names reflect her winning
femininity, its sweetness, its spiciness, its radiance. What's more
their funny overtones are telltale signs of Iris Adrian's own quick
witty sense of humor. Sexy yes, but with a sharp tongue. This aspect of
her personality helped her to evolve and last, changing from the roles
of blonde chorus girls or waitresses or, on the wilder side, of
streetwalkers and other gangsters' molls to colorful bit parts in
comedies with Abbott and Costello, Jerry Lewis and Elvis Presley. She
ended up playing almost exclusively for Walt Disney productions before
retiring at the respectable age of 82. Though she never achieved star
status she could easily have if the circumstances had been favorable.
For she steals scenes in a lot of movies provided of course her role is
fleshed out sufficiently. She was excellent, for instance, in more than
one poverty row crime movies. Don't miss her in Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936),
Go West (1940) (with the Marx Brothers), Lady of Burlesque (1943),
The Paleface (1948), Once a Thief (1950), and The Errand Boy (1961) (with
Jerry Lewis).
