# Viola Barry > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Viola_Barry > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Viola_Barry.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Barry > Source revision: 1323074344 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Viola Barry** (March 4, 1894[1] – April 2, 1964) was an American [silent film](/source/Silent_film) actress who starred in a number of films during the 1910s. ## Early years Gladys Viola Wilson was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Rev. [J. Stitt Wilson](/source/J._Stitt_Wilson), a Methodist minister.[2] She moved with her family to Berkeley, California, where her father was a socialist lecturer and was mayor of Berkeley in 1911.[citation needed] She attended [Berkeley High School](/source/Berkeley_High_School_(California)).[3] She studied under [Herbert Beerbohm Tree](/source/Herbert_Beerbohm_Tree) while she spent more than two years in England, returning to California in December 1909.[1] ## Acting career Before December 1909, Barry was leading woman at Ye Liberty Theater in Oakland, California.[1] In 1910, under her stage name Viola Barry,[4] Wilson signed with the Belasco Theater Company in Los Angeles to be its new [ingénue](/source/Ingenue_(stock_character)). Previously, she had four years of stage experience, two of these with F. H. Benson's Shakespearean Company in England. Among the heroines she played were Desdemona, Juliet, Ophelia, and Portia.[5] Her first appearance with the Belasco company was in *The Test* by [Jules Eckert Goodman](/source/Jules_Eckert_Goodman).[6] She was in movies 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. ## Personal life In February 1911, Barry married actor and film director [Jack Conway](/source/Jack_Conway_(filmmaker)) of the Bison Moving Picture Company[7] in Santa Ana, California. They had one daughter, Rosemary. The couple divorced in 1918. Barry later married screenwriter [Frank McGrew Willis](/source/Frank_McGrew_Willis), with whom she had four children: Virginia, Gloria, McGrew, and James. Barry was a suffragist and, like her father, a [Socialist](/source/Socialism).[5] ## Death and legacy Barry died in 1964 in Hollywood, California. She was buried at the [Mountain View Cemetery](/source/Mountain_View_Cemetery_(Oakland,_California)) in Oakland, California.[citation needed] ## Selected filmography - *[Help! Help! Hydrophobia!](/source/Help!_Help!_Hydrophobia!)* (1913) - *[The Mothering Heart](/source/The_Mothering_Heart)* (1913) - *[The Ranchero's Revenge](/source/The_Ranchero's_Revenge)* (1913) - *[The Lady and the Mouse](/source/The_Lady_and_the_Mouse)* (1913) - *[A Misunderstood Boy](/source/A_Misunderstood_Boy)* (1913) - *[A Frightful Blunder](/source/A_Frightful_Blunder)* (1913) - *[Peeping Pete](/source/Peeping_Pete)* (1913) - *[The Little Tease](/source/The_Little_Tease)* (1913) - *[Almost a Wild Man](/source/Almost_a_Wild_Man)* (1913) - *[Twixt Love and Fire](/source/Twixt_Love_and_Fire)* (1914) - *[His Favourite Pastime](/source/His_Favourite_Pastime)* (1914) - *[John Barleycorn](/source/John_Barleycorn_(film))* (1914), lost film - *[Martin Eden](/source/Martin_Eden_(1914_film))* (1914), incomplete film - *[The Flying Torpedo](/source/The_Flying_Torpedo)* (1916), lost film ## Footnotes 1. ["Young girl wins honors abroad"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4365818/the-san-francisco-call/). *The San Francisco Call*. December 8, 1908. p. 9wpn. Retrieved June 3, 2021. 1. ["Returned Lecturer, J. Stitt Wilson, to Speak at Berkeley,"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2390484/returned_lecturer_j_stitt_wilson_to/) *Oakland Tribune,* Feb 13, 1910, pg. 30. 1. ["Minister's girl proves a clever play writer"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4365862/oakland-tribune/). *Oakland Tribune*. August 5, 1906. p. 13. Retrieved June 3, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. Although she used it for the rest of her life, Viola Barry was actually a stage name. See: ["Actress, Daughter of Well Known Socialist, Marries,"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2390852/actress_daughter_of_well_known/) *Oakland Tribune,* Feb. 28, 1911, pg. 11. 1. ["Actress Viola Barry a Socialist? Sure! Stitt Wilson's her father"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78866683/viola-barry/). *Los Angeles Herald*. December 6, 1910. p. 4wpn. Retrieved June 3, 2021. 1. ["Viola Barry at Belasco"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78868087/viola-barry/). *The Los Angeles Times*. November 24, 1910. p. 16. Retrieved June 3, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. ["Viola Barry, former Liberty favorite, weds motion picture man"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78872504/viola-barry/). *The Evening Times-Star*. February 28, 1911. p. 8. Retrieved June 3, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) ## Other sources consulted - *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*, "Viola Barry at Belasco", November 24, 1910, Page II6. - *Los Angeles Times*, "No Failure for Them", February 27, 1911, Page II3. - *Los Angeles Times*, "Rites Held for Star of Silent Films", April 7, 1964, Page 32. ## External links - [Viola Barry](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0058184/) at IMDb --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Viola Barry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Barry) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Barry?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.