Adele Rowland

Adele Rowland, born Adele P. Levi on July 10, 1883, in Washington, D.C., was an American actress and singer whose Broadway career spanned from 1904 to 1922. The youngest daughter of Abraham D. Levi and Addie (Lloyd) Levi, she grew up in a family with strong ties to the performing arts. Her sister, Mabel Rowland, worked as an actress, monologist, producer, and director, while her brother, Harmon L. Rowland, pursued a career as a real estate broker in Los Angeles.

A soprano, Rowland built her reputation in musical comedy, distinguishing herself through a specialty in "story songs." Her Broadway appearances included The Spring Chicken, Fluffy Ruffles, and The Hurdy-Gurdy Girl. In 1914 she originated the soubrette role of Patsy in Victor Herbert's The Only Girl. That same year she married actor Charlie Ruggles; the couple divorced in 1916. In 1915 she introduced the song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag" in the Broadway production Her Soldier Boy, a rendition for which she became particularly well known.

The 1919 musical The Lady in Red was written by playwright Anne Caldwell specifically as a starring vehicle for Rowland. In that production she introduced "Something About Love," a new song by George Gershwin with lyrics by Lou Paley. Rowland's Broadway work continued through 1922, when she appeared in Spice of 1922. In 1918 she had married stage and film actor Conway Tearle, who died in 1938.

After her Broadway years, Rowland relocated to Los Angeles. In 1935 she appeared at Harold Lloyd's Beverly Hills Little Theatre for Professionals in John Entenza's play A Notorious Lady, a production directed by Alexander Leftwich and featuring Paul De Ricon, Lora Treadwell, Grace Hale, and Robert Hoover. She subsequently built a career in motion pictures, taking on small roles in films including Stories in Song (1928), Lucky Legs (1942), A Tragedy at Midnight (1942), The Blonde from Singapore (1941), The Big Punch (1948), For the Love of Mary (1948), and The Secret Fury (1950), with her screen work continuing into the 1950s. Rowland died on August 8, 1971, in Los Angeles.