Biography

She was born Gladys Viola Wilson in Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...

 the daughter of Jackson Stitt Wilson

Jackson Stitt Wilson

Jackson Stitt Wilson , commonly known as J. Stitt Wilson, was a leading Christian Socialist American politician during the first decades of the 20th Century. He is best remembered as the mayor of the city of Berkeley, California from 1911 to 1913.-Background and Ideas:J. Stitt Wilson was born in...

. She moved with her family to Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

 where her father would become the socialist

Socialism

Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

 mayor from 1911-1913.

In 1910, Barry signed with the Belasco Theater Company to be their new ingénue

Ingenue (stock character)

See also Disingenuous, which is not quite the antonym that it may seem!The ingénue is a stock character in literature, film, and a role type in the theatre; generally a girl or a young woman who is endearingly innocent and wholesome. Ingenue may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in...

. Prior to this, she had four years of stage experience, two of these with Benson's Shakespearean Company in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Among the heroines she played were Viola, Juliet, Portia, and Rosalind. Her first appearance with the Belasco company was in The Test by Jules Eckert Goodman.

She was in motion pictures from 1911 through 1920. Her early screen credits include The Totem Mask, The Voyager: A Tale of Old Canada, McKee Rankin's '49, John Oakhurst, Gambler, An Indian Vestal, Coals of Fire, A Painter's Idyl, The Chief's Daughter, George Warrington's Escape, and Evangeline. All these were completed in her first year in movies.

In February 1911, Barry married John Conway (aka actor and film director Jack Conway) of the Bison Moving Picture Company in Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....

. They had one daughter, Rosemary. The couple divorced in 1918. Barry subsequently married screenwriter Frank McGrew Willis with whom she had four more children: Virginia, Gloria, McGrew, and James.

Viola Barry Willis died in 1964 in Hollywood, California. She was buried at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

.

Selected filmography

• Help! Help! Hydrophobia!
  Help! Help! Hydrophobia!
  Help! Help! Hydrophobia! is a 1913 short comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Jim Brown* Viola Barry - * Nick Cogley...
  
  (1913)
• The Mothering Heart
  The Mothering Heart
  The Mothering Heart is a 1913 short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art.-Plot:...
  
  (1913)
• The Ranchero's Revenge
  The Ranchero's Revenge
  -Cast:* Lionel Barrymore - The Ranchero* Harry Carey - The Schemer* Claire McDowell - The Schemer's Associate* Clarence Barr - The Chinese Cook * Viola Barry - At Party* William Courtright - At Wedding* Charles Hill Mailes - At Party...
  
  (1913)
• The Lady and the Mouse
  The Lady and the Mouse
  The Lady and the Mouse is a 1913 short drama film directed by D.W. Griffith. A print of the film survives.-Cast:* Lillian Gish - The Young Woman* Lionel Barrymore - The Young Woman's Father* Harry Hyde - The Rich Man / Tramp...
  
  (1913)
• A Misunderstood Boy
  A Misunderstood Boy
  A Misunderstood Boy is a 1913 short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith.-Cast:* Lionel Barrymore as The Father* Kate Bruce as The Mother* Lillian Gish as The Daughter* Robert Harron as The Son* Alfred Paget as The Vigilante Leader...
  
  (1913)
• A Frightful Blunder
  A Frightful Blunder
  A Frightful Blunder is a 1913 silent drama film featuring Harry Carey.-Cast:* Charles West - The Young Businessman* Viola Barry - The Young Woman* Walter Miller - The Pharmacist* Kate Bruce - The Young Woman's Mother* William A. Carroll - A Customer...
  
  (1913)
• Peeping Pete
  Peeping Pete
  Peeping Pete is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Phyllis Allen* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Pete's wife* Charles Avery* Viola Barry - * Nick Cogley - Sheriff* Dot Farley* Mack Sennett - Pete...
  
  (1913)
• Twixt Love and Fire
  Twixt Love and Fire
  Twixt Love and Fire is a 1914 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Viola Barry - * Cecile Arnold* Charles Avery* Harold Lloyd-See also:* List of American films of 1914...
  
  (1914)
• His Favourite Pastime
  His Favourite Pastime
  His Favourite Pastime is a 1914 American comedy film starring Charlie Chaplin.-Synopsis:Charlie gets drunk in the bar. He steps outside, meets a pretty woman, tries to flirt with her, only to retreat after the woman's father returns. Returning to the bar, Charlie drinks some more and engages in...
  
  (1914)
• Ace of the Saddle
  Ace of the Saddle
  Ace of the Saddle was a 1919 Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Harry Carey - Cheyenne Harry Henderson* Joe Harris - Sheriff, Yucca County* Duke R...
  
  (1919)
• Sex
  Sex (film)
  Sex is a 1920 silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo, written by C. Gardner Sullivan, produced by J. Parker Read, and starring Louise Glaum. On its surface, the film was a morality story on the evils of marital infidelity. However, the film's producer, J. Parker Read, had made a series of...
  
  (1920)

External links

• Viola Barry at Find a Grave