The daughter of Mrs. Nellie Palmer, née Galligan, Eleanor A. Palmer was born in
Keyport, New Jersey, Prior to this she had appeared in an amateur performance given on the
USS Granite State boat on which her brother served.
The Meriden Daily Journal review stated she had "a voice rivaling
Blanche Ring or
Maud Raymond". She continued to perform as a singing comedienne at a variety of vaudeville theaters in the United States and Canada; among them the Garrick Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware (1910), Shea's Theatre in
Buffalo, New York, Poli's Theatre in
Scranton, Pennsylvania (1910), Poli's Theatre in
Springfield, Massachusetts (1911), the Trent Theatre in
Trenton, New Jersey (1911), the Grand Theatre in
Hamilton, Ontario (1911), the Orpheum Theatre in
Montreal (1911), the Dominion Theatre in
Ottawa, the
Majestic Theatre in Chicago (1911), the Majestic Theatre in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the
Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco (1911), the
Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles (1911), the
Orpheum Theatre in Salt Lake City (1911), the
Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wisconsin (1911), the Orpheum Theatre in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (1912). the Colonial Theater in
Norfolk, Virginia (1912), Young's Ocean Pier Theatre in
Atlantic City, New Jersey (1912), the Temple Theater in
Rochester, New York (1912),
Keith's Theatre's in Boston (1912), and the
Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City (1912). In the 1912–1913 season, Adair toured as the lead female role of Margaret Leffingwell in
Otto Harbach's musical
The Fascinating Widow which co-starred drag artist
Julian Eltinge and was produced by
A. H. Woods. The tour began in
Wisconsin British Columbia,
Washington state,
Oregon,
California,
Texas,
Louisiana,
Tennessee, Washington D.C. (
Columbia Theatre),
Pennsylvania,
Maryland,
Michigan,
Missouri, and
New York. After the closing of this show she resumed touring in vaudeville in May 1913. By January 1914 Adair was under contract with the
Eclair film company of New York City.
Universal Pictures distributed several
silent films she made with Eclair in 1914; including
Adventures in Diplomacy,
At the Court of Prince Make Believe,
Boy,
The Case of Cherry Purcelle,
The Character Woman,
Coming Home,
Cue and Mis-Cue,
The Diamond Master,
The Drug Traffic (1914),
The Duty,
For the Mastery of the World,
The Good in the Worst of Us,
The Greatest of These,
Man of the Hour,
Moonlight,
Mother,
Son, and
Wife. == Later life ==