Ada Meade

Ada Meade Saffarans (1884 - February 4, 1965) was an American actress known professionally as Ada Meade. She performed professionally in comic drama, comic opera, and musical comedy.

Early years Meade was born in 1884 in Lexington, Kentucky. Her father was Daniel T. Saffarans. Mrs. Saffrans "was the greatest heiress of her day in Mississippi", but misfortune turned the family from a luxurious lifestyle to one of frugality and simplicity. The Saffarans also had a son and another daughter. Meade attended Sayre College and Nazareth Academy. Her success in that production resulted in formation of the Ada Meade Opera Company. Based in Dallas, Texas, that company presented Madame Sherry across the southern United States for two years, after which Meade studied in Paris for a year. Besides its touring presentations, the company performed locally with productions including The Fortune Teller and Fra Diavolo in 1908.

In addition to Babette and Mlle. Modiste, Broadway plays in which Meade performed included The Two Roses (1904), Fatinitza (1904), High Jinks (1913), The Red Canary (1914), A World of Pleasure (1915), Rambler Rose (1917), The Girl Behind the Gun (1918), and Elsie (1923).

Meade was prima donna at the Winter Garden in New Orleans in 1907. In 1924, she was the lead actress for the McGarry theatrical company, whose activities included presenting the musical comedy Irene in Buffalo, New York.

Meade retired from performing in 1925

Personal life and death On February 4, 1965, Meade died in Chicago. Her funeral service was in Lexington, and she was buried there.

Ada Meade Theatre In 1913, the Hippodrome Theater in Lexington was sold to a group of businessmen in the city. They had the building remodeled and renamed it the Ada Meade Theatre to honor the actress. It was demolished in 1954. It was mostly a venue for vaudeville, but legitimate theater was performed there in 1922-23 when Lexington's Opera House was closed. Meade performed in her namesake theater on April 9, 1918, as part of a bond rally and on January 8 and 9, 1923, starring in the musical comedy Elsie.