Adele DeGarde

Adele DeGarde
c1909
Born	Adelaide De Gard May 3, 1899 Brooklyn, New York
Died	November 1972 Brooklyn, New York
Other names	Adele De Garde
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1908-1918
Spouse(s)	Harry Jespersen

Adele DeGarde (May 3, 1899 – November 1972), a.k.a. Adele De Garde, was an American silent film actress, who appeared in 114 films between 1908 and 1918.

Born Adelaide De Gard in Brooklyn, New York, DeGarde was a Biograph Studios child star in the early part of the 20th century. Later she became a Vitagraph Studios leading lady.

In 1939, she attended an Old Home Week at Ohrbach's in New York with other movie actors such as Mae Murray and June Elvidge.

In 1908, when pictures were looked at with a bit of apprehension, DeGarde (at the age of eight) began to appear in Vitagraph Studios. And DeGarde and her little pal, Kenneth Casey, were the mischievous, spoiled, or ill-treated children around whom centered many a melodramatic plot. As new stars joined the Vitagraph forces, DeGarde and Kenneth played with them. Many a picture of the "two-generation" or "from-child-to-woman" type would open with DeGarde as its child heroine and finish with Leah Baird, Edith Storey, or Dorothy Kelly rounding out the plot when the child had grown up. If the good old days had been in the year 1918, we would have read about Kenneth Casey and DeGarde, co-stars, but their popularity and appeal suffered none whatsoever because of the fact that they were not heralded as co-stars. Many a Bunny comedy and many a Williams drama have been lightened effectively because of the two irrepressible ones. As the years grew, so did DeGarde, until finally she grew too large for little-girl-before-growing-up parts, and, with many sighs, her directors were forced to "pass her up" and cast anxious glances around for another promising child. Loath to part with their two clever little players, the company produced some exceedingly funny pictures enacted entirely by children about fourteen or fifteen. These comedies — for they were comedies — proved extremely popular, because of the fact that they were so typical of children at that age. And so the years flew, until DeGarde had outgrown even these kinds of parts. About a year ago, when Vitagraph was casting Within the Law, they were a trifle at a loss as to whom they should give the part of Aggie Lynch, a vivacious little parasite, a character on whom all the comedy relief of the play was dependent. After a careful study of the part, it was determined that DeGarde should have it, and those of you who have seen the Vitagraph Blue Ribbon Within the Law know how ably she portrayed the part. Hard-hearted New York press critics had nothing but lavish praise for her delineation of Aggie Lynch and pronounced it "a huge success," declaring that her portrayal equaled that of any of the well-known actresses who essayed the role on the legitimate stage. DeGarde was forced to delineate the character without the assistance of the witty and slangy lines that the stage made possible, but she "got it across in such a manner that even press critics had naught but good to say. DeGarde was the newest "O. Henry" girl, having given a most successful interpretation to the ingénue part in Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking.

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