by Hal Erickson
biography
Though born in Michigan, Adele Mara exuded enough exotic Latin charm to be hired as a vocalist by bandleader Xavier Cugat. In 1941, she was signed to a Columbia Pictures contract, appearing in large roles and small in everything from 2-reel comedies to "B" features like Alias Boston Blackie (1941). She became a star at Republic Studios in the mid-1940s, appearing in many a Republic musical and melodrama and adorning lockers all over the world in cheesecake pin-ups; among her last assignments at Republic was the big-budget 1949 war epic Sands of Iwo Jima. In the late 1950s, Adele Mara curtailed her screen activities upon her marriage to TV producer Roy Huggins.
