Place of Birth: Buffalo, New York, USA
Vola Vale
From Wikipedia She was born Vola Smith in Buffalo, New York. Vale was educated in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She began her career in amateur theatricals in Rochester, New York. Then she played in stock companies for a while. Her first movie experience was with Biograph, under the tutelage of the great film director D.W. Griffith. After a month of playing atmosphere parts, Vola was offered a genuine role. She wore a velvet gown with a train and a feathered hat. Soon she was appearing in short reel films for Biograph. Among the actors she was cast with were William S. Hart, Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, William Haines, Harry Carey, Tully Marshall and William Russell. She was adept in playing Spanish, Italian, French, and Gypsy roles. Aside from Biograph Vola worked for Fox Film, Famous Players-Lasky, Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures. Her ambition was to play Madame Butterfly with an actual Japanese company, as well as to act as Lorna Doone. She was most inspired by Hayakawa and hoped to learn to act inside, as he did. With Sessue Hayakawa she made Each To His Kind (1917). Before filming began it was decided that the name Smith was too common to be used by a motion picture star. She changed her professional name to Vola Vale.
Movie | Cast | Year |
---|---|---|
The Woman He Feared | May Clive | 1916 |
Perils of the Secret Service | Minna Ober (Episode #1) | 1917 |
Crashin' Thru | Diane | 1923 |
Good Men and True | Georgie Hibbler | 1922 |
Overland Red | Louise Alacarme | 1920 |
The Son of His Father | Hazel Mallinsbee | 1917 |
The Bond Between | Ellen Ingram | 1917 |
Liberty Belles | Boarding Schoolgirl | 1914 |
The Silent Man | Betty Bryce | 1917 |
Alias Jimmy Valentine | Rose Lane | 1920 |
Soul of the Beast | Jacqueline | 1923 |
White Oak | Barbara | 1921 |
A Great Love | Nell Woodward | 1916 |
The Lady in the Library | Mildred Vandeburg | 1917 |
Six Feet Four | Winifred Waverly | 1919 |
Little Annie Rooney | Mamie | 1925 |
Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story | Self (uncredited) | 2002 |
The Iron Rider | Mera Donovan | 1920 |
The Midnight Flower | Mary — a foundling | 1923 |
Common Sense | Violet Manners | 1920 |
Two Can Play | Mimi Allen | 1926 |
Wolves of the Rail | Faith Lawson | 1918 |
The Eagle's Wings | Kitty Miles (as Vola Smith) | 1916 |
The Price of Silence | Aline Urmy (as Vola Smith) | 1916 |
Home Sweet Home | 1926 | |
The Phantom of the Opera | Ballerina / Christines Maid (uncredited) | 1925 |
A Heart in Pawn | Emily Stone | 1919 |
Her Big Adventure | Countess Fontaine | 1926 |
The Iron Master | The Iron Master's Sister (as Viola Smith) | 1914 |
The Soul of Pierre | 1915 | |
Zollenstein | Princess Fulvia / Princess Zenia | 1917 |
The Duke of Chimney Butte | Vesta Philbrook | 1921 |
One Rainy Afternoon | 1936 | |
Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Townswoman | 1932 |
Black Tears | 1927 | |
The Sky Pirate | 1926 | |
Heartless Husbands | Mrs. Jackson Cain | 1925 |
Who Cares | Tootles | 1925 |
The Mirage | Betty Bond | 1924 |
Mothers-in-Law | Ina Phillips | 1923 |
The Man Between | Rosie - Joe Cateau's Bride | 1923 |
Singing River | Alice Thornton | 1920 |
Someone in the House | Molly Brent | 1920 |
The Purple Cipher | Jeanne Baldwin | 1920 |
A Master Stroke | Minnie Patton | 1920 |
Hornet's Nest | Muriel Fletcher | 1919 |
Hearts Asleep | Virginia Calvert | 1919 |
Happy Though Married | Diana Ramon | 1919 |
The Locked Heart | Ruth Mason | 1918 |
The Secret of Black Mountain | Miriam Vale | 1917 |
The Topsy Turvy Twins | Mattie | 1917 |
The Last Cigarette | Minna Ober | 1917 |
Mentioned in Confidence | Marjorie Manning | 1917 |
The Winning of Sally Temple | Lady Pamela Vauclain | 1917 |
Each to His Kind | Amy Dawe | 1917 |
It Sounded Like a Kiss | Estelle | 1916 | Series | Cast | Year |