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.
Acted in
Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story
2002
as Self (uncredited)
One Rainy Afternoon
1936
Tomorrow and Tomorrow
1932
as Townswoman
Black Tears
1927
Home Sweet Home
1926
The Sky Pirate
1926
Two Can Play
1926
as Mimi Allen
Her Big Adventure
1926
as Countess Fontaine
Little Annie Rooney
1925
as Mamie
Heartless Husbands
1925
as Mrs. Jackson Cain
The Phantom of the Opera
1925
as Ballerina / Christines Maid (uncredited)
Who Cares
1925
as Tootles
The Mirage
1924
as Betty Bond
The Midnight Flower
1923
as Mary — a foundling
Mothers-in-Law
1923
as Ina Phillips
The Man Between
1923
as Rosie - Joe Cateau's Bride
Soul of the Beast
1923
as Jacqueline
Crashin' Thru
1923
as Diane
Good Men and True
1922
as Georgie Hibbler
The Duke of Chimney Butte
1921
as Vesta Philbrook
White Oak
1921
as Barbara
The Iron Rider
1920
as Mera Donovan
Singing River
1920
as Alice Thornton
Someone in the House
1920
as Molly Brent
The Purple Cipher
1920
as Jeanne Baldwin
Common Sense
1920
as Violet Manners
A Master Stroke
1920
as Minnie Patton
Overland Red
1920
as Louise Alacarme
Alias Jimmy Valentine
1920
as Rose Lane
Six Feet Four
1919
as Winifred Waverly
Hornet's Nest
1919
as Muriel Fletcher
Hearts Asleep
1919
as Virginia Calvert
A Heart in Pawn
1919
as Emily Stone
Happy Though Married
1919
as Diana Ramon
The Locked Heart
1918
as Ruth Mason
Wolves of the Rail
1918
as Faith Lawson
The Silent Man
1917
as Betty Bryce
Zollenstein
1917
as Princess Fulvia / Princess Zenia
The Son of His Father
1917
as Hazel Mallinsbee
The Lady in the Library
1917
as Mildred Vandeburg
The Secret of Black Mountain
1917
as Miriam Vale
The Topsy Turvy Twins
1917
as Mattie
The Bond Between
1917
as Ellen Ingram
Perils of the Secret Service
1917
as Minna Ober (Episode #1)
The Last Cigarette
1917
as Minna Ober
Mentioned in Confidence
1917
as Marjorie Manning
The Winning of Sally Temple
1917
as Lady Pamela Vauclain
Each to His Kind
1917
as Amy Dawe
It Sounded Like a Kiss
1916
as Estelle
The Price of Silence
1916
as Aline Urmy (as Vola Smith)
The Eagle's Wings
1916
as Kitty Miles (as Vola Smith)
The Woman He Feared
1916
as May Clive
A Great Love
1916
as Nell Woodward
The Soul of Pierre
1915
The Iron Master
1914
as The Iron Master's Sister (as Viola Smith)
Liberty Belles
1914
as Boarding Schoolgirl