Adele King
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4 April 1951
Adèle King | |
|---|---|
| Born | Adèle Condron-King 4 April 1951 Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Entertainer |
| Years active | 1956–present |
| Known for | Stage performances, television appearances, pantomime |
| Notable work | Twink, Play the Game, Celebrity Head Chef |
| Children | Chloë Agnew, Naomi Agnew |
| Awards | Jacob's Award (1981) |
Adèle King (born Adèle Condron-King, 4 April 1951) is an Irish entertainer better known as Twink.[1] She is from Dublin. She is the mother of singer Chloë Agnew[2] from the group Celtic Woman.
Stage
King began singing and acting at the age of five. She was a Gaiety Kiddie[3] and worked in pantomime with performers such as Jimmy O'Dea, Milo O'Shea and Maureen Potter. She was also a Young Dublin Singer, from which was formed the trio Maxi, Dick and Twink.[4][5]
She has spent more than 30 years in Dublin's theatres: 26 years in the Gaiety Theatre, two years in the Point Theatre and five years in the Olympia Theatre. At the Olympia Theatre she co-produced and co-wrote much of the shows. She has been described as Ireland's 'Panto Queen'.[3][6]
King has had roles in a number of theatrical productions in Ireland, including: Dirty Dusting at the Gaiety Theatre[7] and Menopause: The Musical.[8]was a member of the Irish showband The Big 8 from 1971 to 1974
Television
King has appeared on Irish television regularly since the late 1960s. She has starred in her own series Twink on RTÉ. She spent ten years on Play the Game,[3] and has made many appearances as a guest on a wide range of programmes, including RTÉ's The Late Late Show, being the subject of a tribute on that show in 2005.[3] She also was the subject of a weekend visit by the television programme Livin' with Lucy with Lucy Kennedy.[citation needed]
In 1993 she was the guest act at a Christmas concert by Perry Como at Dublin's Point Theatre,[9] televised to a worldwide audience of 880 million.[10]
In 2003 she took part in RTÉ's Celebrity Farm and in 2011, she won TV3's Celebrity Head Chef, receiving €10,000 for charity as a result.[11]
She has written an agony aunt page for the Irish magazine TV Now.[12] In 2011, she was given an agony aunt programme on TV3 called "Give Adele a Bell".[13] However, after a delay,[14] the programme was cancelled in June 2012 without an episode being made.[15]
She won a Jacob's Award for her performance in her 1981 Christmas Light Entertainment Special on RTÉ Two.[citation needed]
Theatre school
King established a performance school in summer 2002, the Adèle King Theatre School[3] in Castleknock and Greenhills. Pupils of the school have appeared on television, in films, and in commercials in Ireland and abroad. The school did not re-open for the 2008 autumn term.[16]
She was accused of a conflict of interest over her marks for a contestant, known to her, on the talent show Class Act. Her reaction[17] was: "If Osama bin Laden's son was on the programme and he threatened to send a big squad to my house if I didn't put his child through, I wouldn't."
