Violet Louise Wilkey (January 10, 1903 – June 5, 1976) was an American

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated te ...

who appeared in 18 films over a four-year period during the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era.

Career

Violet Wilkey was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

to an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

father named Arthur Wilkey and an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

mother named Anna Dora Wilkey (née Winter). Violet made her motion picture debut at the age of 10 in a 1913 dramatic short entitled ''The Little Mother'' opposite actress

Ruth Stonehouse Ruth Stonehouse (September 28, 1892 – May 12, 1941) was an actress and film director during the silent films, silent film era. Her stage career started at the age of eight as a dancer in Arizona shows. Early life Ruth Stonehouse was born to ...

. Her follow-up film would be the 1914 release ''The Old Maid'' opposite

Blanche Sweet Sarah Blanche Sweet (June 18, 1896 – September 6, 1986) was an American silent film actress who began her career in the early days of the motion picture film industry. Early life Born Sarah Blanche Sweet (though her first name Sarah was ra ...

Spottiswoode Aitken Frank Spottiswoode Aitken (16 April 1868 – 26 February 1933) was a Scottish-American actor of the silent era. He played Dr. Cameron in D. W. Griffith's epic drama ''The Birth of a Nation''. Early years Aitken was born 16 April 1868 in Edinb ...

Mary Alden Mary Maguire Alden (June 18, 1883 – July 2, 1946) was an American motion picture and stage actress. She was one of the first Broadway actresses to work in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Life Alden was born in New York City on June 1 ...

and Jack Conway. She is possibly best remembered for her appearance as a young Flora in

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

's controversial 1915 classic ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...

''.
''New York Times Movies'' Wilkey portrayed the character Flora Cameron as a child in flashback scenes; the character of Flora as an adult in the film was portrayed by actress

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Warne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress whose career spanned over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Warne Marsh i ...

. Wilkey spent the next few years in relatively minor roles; including one of actor/director

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of var ...

's early efforts '' The Burned Hand'' from 1915. Other notable films of the period were the

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

directed and

Anita Loos Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...

penned drama ''

The Children Pay ''The Children Pay'' is a surviving 1916 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Lillian Gish. Cast * Lillian Gish as Millicent * Violet Wilkey as Jean, her sister * Keith Armour as Horace Craig * Ralph Lewis as T ...

'' (1916), opposite

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "F ...

and

Alma Rubens Alma Rubens (born Alma Genevieve Reubens; February 19, 1897 – January 21, 1931) was an American film actress and stage performer. Rubens began her career in the mid 1910s. She quickly rose to stardom in 1916 after appearing opposite Douglas F ...

and the 1917 drama ''

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 ...

'' opposite

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ne ...

, Aitken,

Kenneth Harlan Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was a popular American actor during the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer roles. His career extended into the sound film era, but during that span he rarely c ...

and

Pauline Starke Pauline Starke (January 10, 1901Some sources say she was born in 1900. – February 3, 1977) was an American silent-film actress. Early years Pauline Starke was born on January 10, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri, the daughter of George W. Starke a ...

. Wilkey's final film performance was in the role of Minnie Smellie in the 1917 comedy-drama ''

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's j ...

'', which was directed by

Marshall Neilan Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan (April 11, 1891 – October 27, 1958; also credited Marshall Neilon) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, whose work in films began in the early Silent film, silent era. Early life Born ...

and starred

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

in the title role. She retired from acting shortly thereafter at the age of 14.

Personal life

Wilkey married Russell Gilbert Kauffmann on January 27, 1927 and the couple had two children, Robert Russell and Patricia. The marriage ended in divorce.

Filmography

References

External links

''The Birth of A Nation''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkey, Violet 1903 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from St. Louis American child actresses American film actresses American people of English descent American silent film actresses