Violet Radcliffe (20 August 1904, Niagara Falls - 4 May 1965, Los Angeles) was a child actress active during Hollywood's silent era. She appeared in several dozen films for Fine Arts, Fox, and Pathe, and was frequently cast as a villain or as a little boy. One of her best-known roles was as Dirty Face Dan in a number of serials.

Biography

According to several US censuses, Violet Bonita Radcliffe was born August 20, 1904, in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

, to Harry Belmont Radcliffe and Ida F. Davenport. However, during her career she was said to be four years younger, resulting in an assumption she was born in 1908. She began performing when she was only two months old, and she was quite young when she appeared in her first film, 1913's ''Quo Vadis''. She played boys role in at least eighteen films between 1915 and 1917. She specialized in

comedies Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

and

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

in which all the actors were supposedly under the age of ten. She played a series of lovable villains for Majestic, including the character Dan in ''The Straw Man'', ''Bilie's Goat'', ''The Little Cupids'' and ''The Little Life Guard'' (1915). She then went to

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

role of Al-Talib in '' Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'' (1917) and

Long John Silver Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1883 novel '' Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg ...

in ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'' (1918). She played Prince Rudolpho in ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

'' along Francis Carpenter, Virginia Lee Corbin and Carmen De Rue. She became regular with Carmen De Rue in the Fox Kiddie Features. She left the movies in 1918, aged supposedly ten. Little was known of what became of her after her career in Hollywood ended, and she was assumed to have died in 1926, aged supposedly 18. In 1922, she married Samuel Maddox, in 1927 Archie Lee Sims, both in Los Angeles, and Eugene Woodford in 1935, in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. She died May 4, 1965, in Los Angeles, named Violet Bonita Beiringer.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1918) *''

The Babes in the Woods ''The Babes in the Woods'' is a 1917 American silent fantasy film directed by Chester M. Franklin and Sidney Franklin and starring Francis Carpenter, Virginia Lee Corbin and Violet Radcliffe.Solomon p.243-44 Cast * Francis Carpenter as Ro ...

'' (1917) * ''Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'' (1917) * ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' (1917) *''

Cheerful Givers ''Cheerful Givers'' is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film produced by the Fine Arts Film Company and distributed by Triangle Film Corporation. The film stars Bessie Love and Kenneth Harlan. The film is presumed lost. Plot To sav ...

'' (1917) * ''Everybody's Doing It'' (1916) *'' A Sister of Six'' (1916) *'' Gretchen the Greenhorn'' (1916) *''

The Little School Ma'am ''The Little School Ma'am'' is a 1916 American drama silent black and white film directed by C.M. Franklin and S.A. Franklin and written by Bernard McConville and Frank E. Woods. It stars Dorothy Gish. Cast * Dorothy Gish as Nan * Elmer Cli ...

'' (1916) * ''Going Straight'' (1916) *'' Let Katie Do It'' (1916) * ''Quo Vadis?'' (1913)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Radcliffe, Violet American child actresses Actresses from New York (state) 1904 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American women