Viola Dana
Encyclopedia
Viola Dana was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent movies
.
. A particular favorite of audiences was her performance in David Belasco's
Poor Little Rich Girl, when she was 16. She went into vaudeville
with Dustin Farnum
in The Little Rebel and played a bit part in The Model by Augustus Thomas.
Dana entered films in 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 Company, working at their studio in the Bronx. She fell in love with Edison director John Hancock Collins (1889–1918) 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 released through Metro Pictures Corporation. Dana and Collins accepted Rolfe's offer in 1916 and made several important films for Rolfe/Metro, notably The Girl Without A Soul and Blue Jeans
(both 1917). Rolfe closed his New York-area studio down in the face of the 1918 influenza epidemic and sent most of his personnel to California. Dana left before Collins, who was finishing work at the studio; however, Collins contracted influenza which rapidly turned into pneumonia and died in a New York hotel room on October 23, 1918.
Dana remained in California acting for Metro. In 1920, she became engaged to Ormer Locklear
, a daring aviator and military veteran. Locklear died when his plane crashed on August 2, 1920 during a nighttime film shoot for a serial, The Skywayman, for Fox Studios. Locklear was the prototype
for the Robert Redford
movie, The Great Waldo Pepper
(1975), and Dana was an honored guest at its premiere. Dana witnessed the 1920 crash. She would not fly again for 25 years.
Dana continued to act throughout the 1920s, but her popularity gradually waned. One of her last important 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), The Show of Shows
(1929). By the time she made her final film appearance, she had appeared in over 100 films. More than 50 years after her retirement from the screen, she appeared in the documentary Hollywood
(1980), discussing her career as a silent film star during the 1920s. Footage from the interview sessions was used in the 1987 documentary Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow.
Dana was married to Yale football star and actor Maurice "Lefty" Flynn
from 1925 to 1929 and to golf
er Jimmy Thomson
from 1930 to 1945.
Dana died in 1987 from heart failure, aged 90. She is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery under her original name of Virginia Flugrath.
Dana has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
for her contribution to motion pictures. It is located at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard.
Silent Movies
Silent Movies are 13 solo guitar compositions by Marc Ribot released September 28, 2010 on Pi Recordings.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "For those interested in one of the more compelling and quietly provocative and graceful guitar records of 2010,...
.
Career
Born Virginia Flugrath, Dana was a child star, appearing on the stage at the age of three. She read Shakespeare and particularly identified with the teenage Juliet. She enjoyed a long run at the Hudson Theater in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A particular favorite of audiences was her performance in David Belasco's
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
Poor Little Rich Girl, when she was 16. She went into vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
with Dustin Farnum
Dustin Farnum
Dustin Lancy Farnum was an American singer, dancer and an actor in silent movies during the early days of motion pictures. After a great success in a number of stage roles, in 1914 he landed his first film role in the movie 'Soldiers of Fortune', and later in Cecil B. DeMille's The Squaw Man...
in The Little Rebel and played a bit part in The Model by Augustus Thomas.
Dana entered films in 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 Company, working at their studio in the Bronx. She fell in love with Edison director John Hancock Collins (1889–1918) 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
Rolfe Photoplays
Rolfe Photoplays Inc. was an American motion picture production company established by musical entertainer B.A. Rolfe. Although the company filmed in California, its productions were primarily filmed on the East Coast, usually in and around Fort Lee, New Jersey. Its films were distributed through...
, which released through Metro Pictures Corporation. Dana and Collins accepted Rolfe's offer in 1916 and made several important films for Rolfe/Metro, notably The Girl Without A Soul and Blue Jeans
Blue Jeans (play)
Blue Jeans is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur that opened in New York City in 1890 to great popularity. The sensation of the play is a scene where the unconscious hero is placed on a board approaching a huge buzz saw in a sawmill, which became one of the most dramatic imitated scenes...
(both 1917). Rolfe closed his New York-area studio down in the face of the 1918 influenza epidemic and sent most of his personnel to California. Dana left before Collins, who was finishing work at the studio; however, Collins contracted influenza which rapidly turned into pneumonia and died in a New York hotel room on October 23, 1918.
Dana remained in California acting for Metro. In 1920, she became engaged to Ormer Locklear
Ormer Locklear
Ormer Leslie "Lock" Locklear was an American daredevil stunt pilot and film actor during and immediately after World War I.-Early life and career:...
, a daring aviator and military veteran. Locklear died when his plane crashed on August 2, 1920 during a nighttime film shoot for a serial, The Skywayman, for Fox Studios. Locklear was the prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
for the Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
movie, The Great Waldo Pepper
The Great Waldo Pepper
The Great Waldo Pepper is a 1975 drama film directed, produced, and co-written by George Roy Hill. It stars Robert Redford as a discontented airplane pilot in the years 1926-1931....
(1975), and Dana was an honored guest at its premiere. Dana witnessed the 1920 crash. She would not fly again for 25 years.
Dana continued to act throughout the 1920s, but her popularity gradually waned. One of her last important roles was in Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
's first film for Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, That Certain Thing
That Certain Thing
.That Certain Thing is a 1928 silent film comedy directed by Frank Capra. It was Capra's first film for Harry Cohn's Columbia Pictures.-Plot:...
(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
Edna Flugrath
Edna Flugrath was the eldest of three sisters who found fame as silent film stars.-Early life:Born in Brooklyn, New York on December 29, 1893, she was the first born of Emil and Mary Dubois Flugrath. Her father, a printer by trade, was the son of Polish-German immigrants and had at one time been...
, in the 1923 film The Social Code), The Show of Shows
The Show of Shows (film)
The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...
(1929). By the time she made her final film appearance, she had appeared in over 100 films. More than 50 years after her retirement from the screen, she appeared in the documentary Hollywood
Hollywood (documentary)
Hollywood is a 1980 documentary series produced by Thames Television which explored the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture....
(1980), discussing her career as a silent film star during the 1920s. Footage from the interview sessions was used in the 1987 documentary Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow.
Dana was married to Yale football star and actor Maurice "Lefty" Flynn
Maurice Bennett Flynn
Maurice Bennett Flynn was an American footballer and actor. He was also known as "Lefty" Flynn because in football, he kicked with his left foot.-Biography:...
from 1925 to 1929 and to golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er Jimmy Thomson
Jimmy Thomson (golfer)
James Wilfred Stevenson Thomson was a Scottish-American professional golfer, who is notable for losing the 1936 PGA Championship to Denny Shute, 3&2....
from 1930 to 1945.
Dana died in 1987 from heart failure, aged 90. She is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery under her original name of Virginia Flugrath.
Dana has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
for her contribution to motion pictures. It is located at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard.