Viola Dana
actress, miscellaneous, soundtrack
- Birth name:
- Virginia Flugrath
- Born:
- 1897-06-26, Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA
- Died:
- 1987-07-03, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Professions:
- actress, miscellaneous, soundtrack
Biography
Brooklyn, 26 June 1897: Virginia Flugrath arrived as the second beat in a trio of sisters, later known to moviegoers as Edna Flugrath, Shirley Mason, and—most famously—Viola Dana. A camera found her in 1914; she slipped into knickers for Molly the Drummer Boy and never looked back. By 1915 she had blossomed into Gladiola Bain, the fragrant heart of Gladiola, her name now topping the marquee. Demand snowballed—The Innocence of Ruth handed her the reins in 1916, and a decade later she galvanized Kentucky hills as Katie O’Doone in Bred in Old Kentucky. Her flickering shadow left the screen for good after 1929’s One Splendid Hour, though she stepped once more into the spotlight in 1987, reminiscing about stone-faced Buster in the documentary Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow. Ninety summers after her first breath, she took her last on 3 July 1987.
