Viola Dana

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Viola Dana
Film actress Viola Dana (SAYRE 22664).jpg
Dana in 1922
Born
Virginia Flugrath

(1897-06-26)June 26, 1897
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJuly 3, 1987(1987-07-03) (aged 90)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place Hollywood Forever Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
Years active19001933
Spouses
(m. 1915;died 1918)
(m. 1925;div. 1929)
(m. 1930;div. 1945)
Relatives Edna Flugrath (sister)
Shirley Mason (sister)

Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films.

Contents

Early life

Born Virginia Flugrath on June 26, 1897, in Brooklyn, New York City, where she was raised, she was the middle sister of three siblings who all became actresses. Her sisters were known as Edna Flugrath and Shirley Mason. [1] Dana appeared (billed as Viola Dana) in the Broadway play The Poor Little Rich Girl by Eleanor Gates. [2]

She began performing in vaudeville with Dustin Farnum in The Little Rebel and played a bit part in The Model by Augustus Thomas. [1]

Film career

Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual (1916) (1916) (14783351623).jpg
Metro Pictures advertisement for the filmmaking team of Viola Dana and John H. Collins (1916)
Robert Walker Viola Dana 1917.jpg
Robert D. Walker and Dana in still for Aladdin's Other Lamp (1917)

With the stage name of Viola Dana, she entered films in 1910, including A Christmas Carol (1910). Her first motion picture was made at a former Manhattan (New York) riding academy on West 61st Street. The stalls had been transformed to dressing rooms. Dana became a star with the Edison Manufacturing Company, working at their studio in the Bronx. She fell in love with Edison director John Hancock Collins, and they married in 1915. Dana's success in Collins's Edison features such as Children of Eve (1915) and The Cossack Whip (1916) encouraged producer B.A. Rolfe to offer the couple lucrative contracts with his company, Rolfe Photoplays, which was released through Metro Pictures Corporation. Dana and Collins accepted Rolfe's offer in 1916 and made several films for Rolfe/Metro, notably The Girl Without a Soul and Blue Jeans (both 1917). Rolfe closed his New York-area studio in the face of the 1918 flu pandemic and sent most of his personnel to California. Dana left before Collins, who was finishing work at the studio; however, Collins contracted influenza and died in a New York hotel room on October 23, 1918.[ citation needed ]

Dana remained in California acting for Metro throughout the 1920s, but her popularity gradually waned. One of her latter roles was in Frank Capra's first film for Columbia Pictures, That Certain Thing (1928). She retired from the screen in 1929. Her final screen credits are roles in Two Sisters (1929), One Splendid Hour (1929), and with her sister Leonie Flugrath, better known as Shirley Mason (years earlier she had appeared with her older sister, Edna Flugrath, in the 1923 film The Social Code ), in The Show of Shows (1929). By the time she made her final film appearance in 1933, she had appeared in over 100 films. She briefly came out of retirement to appear in her first and only television role in a small part on Lux Video Theatre in 1956. [3]

More than 50 years after her retirement from the screen, Dana appeared in the Kevin Brownlow/David Gill documentary series Hollywood (1980), discussing her career as a silent film star during the 1920s. Footage from the interview was used in the later documentary series Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987) from the same team. [4]

Personal life

Dana's first husband was Edison director John Collins who died in the influenza pandemic of 1918. In 1920, she began a relationship with Ormer "Lock" Locklear, an aviator, military veteran and budding film star. Locklear died when his aircraft crashed on August 2, 1920, during a nighttime film shoot for The Skywayman . Although married, Locklear had been dating Dana, and on the night before his death, in a premonition, gave her some of his personal effects. Dana witnessed the 1920 crash and did not fly again for 25 years. [5] [N 1]

Locklear was reputed to be the prototype for the character of Waldo Pepper played by Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper (1975). Dana was an honored guest at its premiere. [6]

Dana was married to Yale football star and actor Maurice "Lefty" Flynn in June 1925. [7] They divorced in February 1929. [8] Her third and final marriage was to golfer Jimmy Thomson from 1930 to March 1945. [9] In later years, she volunteered at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, and she moved there permanently in 1979. [10] In 1986, one year before her death, she was the subject of a documentary short by Anthony Slide titled Vi: Portrait of a Silent Star, in which she talks of her life and career.

Death

Dana died on July 3, 1987, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles at the age of 90. [11]

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Dana has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard. [12]

Filmography

Short subject

YearTitleRoleNotes
1910 A Christmas Carol
1912Children Who LaborThe Immigrant's Older Daughter
The Butler and the MaidThe Statue
How Father Accomplished His WorkThe Second Daughter
The Lord and the PeasantMary's Sister
The Third Thanksgiving
1914Molly the Drummer BoyMolly Mason
My Friend from IndiaGertie Underholt
Treasure TroveCora Fairfield
The Blind FiddlerThe Fairy
The Adventure of the Hasty ElopementRuth
Seth's SweetheartSally
Who Goes There?Kate - Toppy's Sweetheart
1915LenaEuphemia Miggles
A Thorn Among Roses
The Stone HeartNan Cowles
The Glory of ClementinaEtta Concanna
A Spiritual ElopementEvelyn Banks
The Portrait in the AtticThelma
A Theft in the DarkLady Genevieve
The StoningRuth Fenton
The Slavey StudentAlma Picket
Her HappinessViola Winters
1933The Strange Case of Poison Ivy
The Adventure of the Hasty Elopement (1914)

Features

Lobby card from Naughty Nannette-1927 Naughty Nannette lobby card.jpg
Lobby card from Naughty Nannette-1927
YearTitleRoleNotes
1915 The House of the Lost Court Dolores EdgertonLost film
Cohen's Luck Minnie CohenLost film
On Dangerous Paths Eleanor ThurstonLost film
Gladiola Gladiola BainLost film
Children of Eve Fifty-Fifty Mamie
1916 The Innocence of Ruth Ruth Travers
The Flower of No Man's Land EchoLost film
The Light of Happiness TangletopLost film
The Gates of Eden Eve / EvelynLost film
The Cossack Whip Darya Orlinsky
1918 Threads of Fate DorotheaLost film
Rosie O'Grady Rosie O'GradyLost film
The Mortal Sin Jane AndersonLost film
God's Law and Man's AmeiaLost film
Lady Barnacle LakshimaLost film
Aladdin’s Other Lamp Patricia Smith (Patsy)Lost film
The Girl Without A Soul Unity Beaumont / Priscilla Beaumont
Blue Jeans June
1918 The Winding Trail Audrey GrahamLost film
A Weaver of Dreams Judith SylvesterLost film
Breakers Ahead Ruth BowmanLost film
Riders of the Night Sally Castleton
The Only Road Nita
Opportunity Mary Willard
Flower of the Dusk Barbara North
1919 The Gold Cure Annice PaischLost film
Satan Junior Diana Ardway
The Parisian Tigress JeanneLost film
False Evidence Madelon MacTavish
Some Bride Patricia MorleyLost film
The Microbe Happy O'Brien, The MicrobeLost film
Please Get Married Muriel AshleyLost film
1920 The Willow Tree O-Riu
Dangerous to Men ElizaLost film
The Chorus Girl's Romance Marcia MeadowsLost film
Blackmail Flossie GoldenLost film
Cinderella's Twin Connie McGillLost film
1921 The Off-Shore Pirate Ardita FarnamLost film
Puppets of Fate Sorrentina PalombraLost film
Home Stuff Madge Joy
Life's Darn Funny Zoe RobertsLost film
The Match-Breaker Jane MorganLost film
There Are No Villains Rosa MorelandLost film
1922 The Fourteenth Lover Vi Marchmont
Glass Houses Joy DuvalLost film
Seeing's Believing Diana Webster
They Like 'Em Rough KatherineLost film
The Five Dollar Baby RuthLost film
June Madness Clytie WhitmoreLost film
Love in the Dark Mary DuffyLost film
1923 Crinoline and Romance Miss Emmy LouLost film
Her Fatal Millions Mary BishopLost film
Hollywood Viola DanaLost film
Rouged Lips Norah MacPherson
The Social Code Babs Van BurenLost film
In Search of a Thrill Ann Clemance
A Noise in Newboro Martha MasonLost film
1924 The Heart Bandit Molly O'HaraLost film
Don't Doubt Your Husband Helen BlakeLost film
The Beauty Prize Connie Du BoisLost film
Revelation Joline Hofer
Merton of the Movies Sally Montague, 'Flips'Lost film
Open All Night Thérèse Duverne
Along Came Ruth Ruth AmbroseLost film
As Man Desires Pandora La CroixLost film
1925 Forty Winks Eleanor ButterworthLost film
The Necessary Evil Shirley HolmesLost film
Winds of Chance Rouletta Kirby
The Great Love Minette BunkerLost film
1926 Wild Oats Lane Marie, the GirlLost film
Bigger Than Barnum's Juanita Calles
Kosher Kitty Kelly Kitty KellyIncomplete film, missing a reel
The Ice Flood Marie O'Neill
The Silent Lover Scadsza
Bred in Old Kentucky Katie O'Doone
1927 Home Struck Barbara Page
Salvation Jane Salvation Jane
Naughty Nanette Nanette Pearson
Lure of the Night Club Mary Murdock
1928 That Certain Thing Molly Kelly
1929 Two Sisters Jean / JaneLost film
One Splendid Hour Bobbie Walsh
The Show of Shows Performer in 'The Pirate,' 'Meet My Sister' & 'Ladies of the Ensemble' NumbersBlack-and-white version is extant, and the technicolor version is partially extant

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References

Notes

  1. In the "Hazards of the Game" episode of Hollywood (1980), actresses Leatrice Joy and Viola Dana recalled Locklear and the making of his last film. Dana described his final flight. [5]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Stone, Tammy. "Viola Dana." The Silent Collection; retrieved October 22, 2014.
  2. The Poor Little Rich Girl as presented on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre January 21, 1913 to June 1913; IBDb.com
  3. Lussier, Tim. "The tragic Flugrath sisters: Hard to believe, But all three experienced the same loss." silentsaregolden.com, 1999. Retrieved: October 22, 2014.
  4. "Viola Dana, 1897–1987." Golden Silents, 2014. Retrieved: October 22, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Farmer 1984, p. 23.
  6. Anderson, Nancy. "Viola Dana Loved the Real Waldo Pepper". Greeley Daily Tribune, April 28, 1975, p. 23. Retrieved: October 22, 2014.
  7. "Viola Dana Marries Maurice "Lefty" Flynn." The Norwalk Hour, June 22, 1925, p. 5. Retrieved: May 1, 2013.
  8. "Viola Dana To Wed Professional Golfer." The Portsmouth Sunday Times, October 11, 1930, p. 2. Retrieved: May 1, 2013.
  9. "Divorce Granted Viola Dana." St. Petersburg Times, March 31, 1945, p. 8. Retrieved: May 1, 2013.
  10. "Actress Viola Dana, 90, Star of 50 silent movies." Chicago Tribune, July 12, 1987. Retrieved: October 22, 2014.
  11. "Silent Movie Star Viola Dana Dies." The Bryan Times, July 11, 1987, p. 3. Retrieved: May 1, 2013.
  12. "Viola Dana". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved August 8, 2024.

Bibliography

  • Farmer, James H. Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. ISBN   978-0-83062-374-7.
  • "From the Movies to Stardom". Ogden Standard, January 10, 1914, p. 27.
  • "Little Viola Dana Ambitious to Become Grown-Up Actress". Indianapolis Star, January 15, 1914, p. 13.
  • "Viola Dana In Person at Faurot". Lima News, March 23, 1930, p. 24.