Ada Meade

Ada Meade Saffarans (1884 – February 4, 1965) was an American actress who performed professionally under the name Ada Meade. Her work spanned comic drama, comic opera, and musical comedy, and she maintained an active Broadway career from 1903 to 1923.

Meade was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Daniel T. Saffarans and Ada Coles Meade Saffarrans. Her maternal grandfather had been a planter in Mississippi, and her maternal great-grandfather had served as acting governor of Mississippi in the early 1800s. Her mother had been considered the greatest heiress of her day in Mississippi before a reversal of fortune brought the family to a more modest way of life. The family also included a son and another daughter. Meade received her education at Sayre College and Nazareth Academy. Following her mother's death, friends and supporters organized a benefit singing performance that generated sufficient funds for Meade to travel to New York to pursue her studies.

By the age of 18, Meade was appearing in New York in the operetta Babette alongside Fritzi Scheff. She also performed with Scheff in Mlle. Modiste, and a notable opportunity arose when Scheff was unable to take the stage in the title role during a Cleveland engagement, prompting Meade to step into the part. That success led directly to the formation of the Ada Meade Opera Company, based in Dallas, Texas. The company toured Madame Sherry across the southern United States for two years and also mounted local productions including The Fortune Teller and Fra Diavolo in 1908. Following the company's touring period, Meade spent a year studying in Paris. In 1907, she served as prima donna at the Winter Garden in New Orleans.

Meade's Broadway credits included The Two Roses and Fatinitza, both in 1904, followed by High Jinks in 1913, The Red Canary in 1914, A World of Pleasure in 1915, Rambler Rose in 1917, The Girl Behind the Gun in 1918, and Elsie in 1923. In 1924, she served as lead actress for the McGarry theatrical company, which presented the musical comedy Irene in Buffalo, New York. Meade retired from performing in 1925.

In 1913, a group of Lexington businessmen purchased the city's Hippodrome Theater, had it remodeled, and renamed it the Ada Meade Theatre in the actress's honor. The venue operated primarily as a house for vaudeville, though it also presented legitimate theater during 1922 and 1923 while Lexington's Opera House was closed. Meade performed at her namesake theater on April 9, 1918, as part of a bond rally, and returned on January 8 and 9, 1923, starring in the musical comedy Elsie. The building was demolished in 1954.

Following her retirement from the stage, Meade pursued a career in business. She worked for a paper company in Niagara Falls before relocating to Chicago, where she was employed by Marshall Field and Company. She subsequently served as a secretary for the American Bar Association, a position from which she retired in 1964. Meade died in Chicago on February 4, 1965. Her funeral was held in Lexington, Kentucky, where she was also buried.