Evelyn Venable (October 18, 1913 – November 15, 1993) was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Grazia in the 1934 film '' Death Takes a Holiday''. In addition to acting in around two dozen films during the 1930s and 1940s, she was also the voice and model for the Blue Fairy in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'' (1940). She is one of a number of women who have been suggested to have served as the model for the personification of Columbia in the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

logo that was used from 1928 to 1936. For her work in films, Venable has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 1500 Vine Street.

Life and career

Venable was born on October 18, 1913, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the only child of Emerson Venable and Dolores Venable (née Compton). She graduated from

Walnut Hills High School Walnut Hills High School is a public college-preparatory high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. Operated by Cincinnati Public Schools, it houses grades seven through twelve. The school was established in 1895 and has occupied its current building s ...

(class of 1930), where her father and grandfather William Henry Venable taught English. She performed in several plays at Walnut Hills, such as Juliet in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', the Dream Child in ''Dear Brutus'' and Rosalind in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

''. She attended Vassar College for a short time, then returned to the University of Cincinnati. She performed in Walter Hampden's touring productions, including Roxane in ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'' and Ophelia in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

''. During a performance in Los Angeles, she was recognized and offered several film contracts. After initially turning down the offers, she signed a contract with

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

in 1932. Her contract was unique in that she would not have to cut her hair, pose for leg art, or perform in bit parts. A long-believed apocryphal story sprang up that she was forbidden by her father to engage in any kissing scenes in her films, and although this eventually proved to be false, she does not have any kissing scenes in her more memorable films. She played the lead or second lead in a series of films in the 1930s and claimed to be the original model for the

logo, but the studio has never confirmed it. Fredric March-Evelyn Venable in Death Takes a Holiday trailer

She met cinematographer Hal Mohr on the set of the

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

film '' David Harum'' (1934). They argued over her make-up the first day on set, apologized to each other the next, and Mohr proposed by the end of the week. Venable insisted they wait a year to marry because she feared a Hollywood divorce. They married on December 7, 1934, and had two daughters, Dolores and Rosalia. They were vegetarians. Venable provided the voice of The Blue Fairy for the 1940

film ''

''. In 1943, Venable retired from acting, resumed her studies at UCLA, and became a faculty member there, teaching ancient Greek and Latin and organizing the production of Greek plays within the Classics department. Her husband Hal Mohr died in 1974. She died of cancer in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on November 15, 1993, at age 80.

Partial filmography

*'' Cradle Song'' (1933) as Teresa *'' David Harum'' (1934) as Ann Madison *'' Death Takes a Holiday'' (1934) as Grazia *'' Double Door'' (1934) as Anne Darrow *'' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (1934) as Lucy Olcott *'' The County Chairman'' (1935) as Lucy Rigby *'' The Little Colonel'' (1935) as Elizabeth *'' Vagabond Lady'' (1935) as Miss Josephine 'Jo' Spiggins *'' Alice Adams'' (1935) as Mildred Palmer *'' Harmony Lane'' (1935) as Susan Pentland *''

Streamline Express ''Streamline Express'' is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by Leonard Fields, starring Victor Jory, Evelyn Venable and Esther Ralston, distributed by Mascot Pictures. The film is an adaptation of '' Twentieth Century'', released the ...

'' (1935) as Patricia Wallace *'' Star for a Night'' (1936) as Anna Lind *'' North of Nome'' (1936) as Camilla Bridle *'' Happy Go Lucky'' (1936) as Mary Gorham *'' Racketeers in Exile'' (1937) as Myrtle Thornton *''

My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!", typically shortened to "My Old Kentucky Home", is a sentimental ballad and regional anthem of Kentucky. It was written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firt ...

'' (1938) as Lisbeth Calvert *'' Hollywood Stadium Mystery'' (1938) as Pauline Ward *'' Female Fugitive'' (1938) as Peggy Mallory, aka Ann Williams * '' The Headleys at Home'' (1938) as Pamela Headley *'' The Frontiersmen'' (1938) as June Lake *'' Heritage of the Desert'' (1939) as Miriam Naab *''

'' (1940) as The Blue Fairy (voice, uncredited) *'' Lucky Cisco Kid'' (1940) as Emily Lawrence *'' He Hired the Boss'' (1943) as Emily Conway *''Get It'' (1943) *'' Uncivil War Birds'' (1946) as Beverly (uncredited) *''

Fright Night ''Fright Night'' is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland, in his directorial debut. The film follows teenager Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale), who discovers that his next-door neighbor Je ...

'' (1947) as Julia Seds (uncredited)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venable, Evelyn American film actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Cincinnati Actresses from Greater Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles faculty Deaths from cancer in Idaho 1913 births 1993 deaths University of California, Los Angeles alumni American voice actresses 20th-century American actresses Walnut Hills High School alumni