Adèle King (born Adèle Condron-King, 4 April 1951) is an Irish entertainer better known as Twink. She is the mother of singer
Chloë Agnew
Chloë Alexandra Adele Emily Agnew (born 1989) is an Irish singer and songwriter, best known for being an original and former member of the Celtic music group Celtic Woman.
Early life and career
Agnew was born to Irish entertainer Adele " ...
[Twink (Adele King), 57, is an actress and entertainer. She lives in Rathfarnham, Dublin with her daughters, Chloe, 18, and Naomi, 14]
''The Irish Independent'', 6 April 2008 from the group
Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...
.
Career
Stage
King began singing and acting at the age of five. She was a
Gaiety
Gaiety or Gayety may refer to:
* Gaiety (mood), the state of being happy
* Gaiety Theatre (disambiguation)
* ''USS Gayety (AM-239'', former name of the ship ''BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20)''
See also
*Gaiety Girls
Gaiety Girls were the chorus girl ...
Kiddie
[ and worked in ]pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
with performers such as Jimmy O'Dea
James Augustine O'Dea (26 April 1899 – 7 January 1965) was an Irish actor and comedian.
Life
Jimmy O'Dea was born at 11 Lower Bridge Street, Dublin, to James O'Dea, an ironmonger, and Martha O'Gorman, who kept a small toy shop. He was one ...
, Milo O'Shea
Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...
and Maureen Potter
Maria Philomena Potter (3 January 1925 – 7 April 2004), known as Maureen Potter, was an Irish singer, actress, comedienne and performer.
Early life
Potter was born in Dublin and educated at St. Mary's school in Fairview. She had a long career ...
. She was also a Young Dublin Singer, from which was formed the trio Maxi, Dick and Twink.[''Don't put your daughter on stage, Mrs. King'']
- an interview/profile of Adele 'Twink' King, by Jack Moloney[''Bandstand'' article - The Sligo Champion (20 March 1970)]
She has spent more than 30 years in Dublin's theatres: 26 years in the Gaiety Theatre, two years in the Point Theatre
The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Qu ...
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'.[Charity You're A Star – Coach: Twink]
RTÉ Television, 2007
King has had roles in a number of theatrical productions in Ireland, including: ''Dirty Dusting'' at the Gaiety Theatre and ''Menopause: The Musical''.
Television
King has appeared on Irish television regularly since the late 1960s. She has starred in her own series ''Twink'' on RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
. She spent ten years on ''Play the Game'',[ 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.][ She also was the subject of a weekend visit by the television programme '']Livin' with Lucy
''Livin' with Lucy'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish television programme presented by Lucy Kennedy. First aired on 14 April 2008, the premise of the show is that Kennedy spends a weekend living with a different celebrity each episode, analysin ...
'' with Lucy Kennedy
Lucy Kennedy ( ga, Lusaí Ní Chinnéide; born 21 April 1976) is an Irish television and radio presenter.
Kennedy first came to public attention from co-hosting ''The Podge and Rodge Show'' on RTÉ Two. She has also presented dating show ''The ...
.
In 1993 she was the guest act at a Christmas concert by Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...
at Dublin's Point Theatre
The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Qu ...
, televised to a worldwide audience of 880 million.[Stage has been set for yet another Twink battle]
''The Irish Independent'', 21 February 2010
In 2003 she took part in RTÉ's ''Celebrity Farm
''Celebrity Farm'' was a 2003 Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) reality television show, based on the international TV format '' The Farm'', produced by Strix. Held along similar lines as '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'', ''Celebrity Fa ...
'' and in 2011, she won TV3's ''Celebrity Head Chef'', receiving €10,000 for charity as a result.
She has written an agony aunt page for the Irish magazine ''TV Now
''TV Now'' (stylised as ''TV NOW'') is an Irish magazine containing a television guide, interviews with television stars and other television-related items. It is part of the ''VIP'' publishing franchise of Michael O'Doherty. ''TV Now'' was ...
''. In 2011, she was given an agony aunt programme on TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to:
Television
*Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso
*Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala
*Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...
called "Give Adele a Bell". However, after a delay, the programme was cancelled in June 2012 without an episode being made.
She won a Jacob's Award
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...
for her performance in her 1981 Christmas Light Entertainment Special on RTÉ Two
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...
.
Theatre school
King established a performance school in summer 2002, the Adèle King Theatre School[ in ]Castleknock
Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal.
In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...
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.
She was accused of a conflict of interest over her marks for a contestant, known to her, on the talent show ''Class Act
''Class Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'', the film was written by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a sto ...
''. Her reaction was: "If Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
'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."
Personal life
Twink married oboist
An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette.
The following is a list of notable past and pres ...
David Agnew in 1983 and had two children, Chloë in 1989, who sings with the group Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...
,[ and Naomi in 1993.
Twink's marriage ended after 21 years, in October 2004.][Interview with Eamonn Dunphy, RTÉ Radio 1, 29 September 2007] In February 2006, David Agnew (aged 45) had a baby with clarinetist Ruth Hickey (29). This prompted an infamous phone call from King (54) to ex-husband Agnew. She recorded a hostile message on his answering machine which appeared afterwards on the internet. The recording contained coarse and abusive language, such as "zip up your mickey" (Irish slang for penis), and Twink insulted Hickey and the newborn infant, repeatedly calling them "whore" and "your whore's bastard" respectively. King went on to threaten Agnew with denial of contact with his daughters if photographs of his new family appeared in public.
Twink described the Irish singer, Linda Martin
Linda Martin (born 27 March 1952) is an Irish singer and television presenter. She is best known as the winner of the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest during which she represented Ireland with the song " Why Me?". She is also known within Irelan ...
, as a "cunt
''Cunt'' () is a vulgar word for the vulva or vagina. It is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. Reflecting national variations, ''cunt'' can be used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United Stat ...
" during a tirade in May 2010. The two had been friends for 30 years but both said afterwards that they had no plans to speak to each other again.
Twink has pet dogs, cats, birds, and a donkey.[ She lives with her daughters in ]Knocklyon
Knocklyon () is a suburb of Dublin in county of South Dublin, within the old County Dublin, Ireland. Unlike many Dublin suburbs, Knocklyon was not developed around a village; rather it largely comprises modern housing built between the village ...
, Dublin.[ In April 2015 it was reported that David Agnew and Adele King face a bid by the Bank of Scotland to repossess a house which is mortgaged in both their names. The application for possession against Ms King had already previously been adjourned by the court.
In September 2014 it was widely reported across major Irish media outlets that Twink's dog, Teddy Bear, was kidnapped. Commenting on the events, Twink was quoted describing Linda Martin as being "a very powerful woman in the dog world" and that the kidnapping marked her own personal "Erin Brockovich moment". On 24 September Twink was reunited with her dog after a public tip-off led to the police arrest of a man in Dublin.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Adele
Irish pop musicians
Irish stage actresses
Irish television actresses
Jacob's Award winners
Living people
Pantomime
1951 births
Participants in Irish reality television series