Acting · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA · Born February 14, 1898
Eva Barbara Novak (February 14, 1898 – April 17, 1988) was an American film actress, who was quite popular during the silent film era. On February 14, 1898, Eva Barbara Novak was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Joseph Jerome Novak, an immigrant from Bohemia, and Barbara Medek. Her older sister, Johana, also became an actress. Joseph Novak died when Eva was still a child and Barbara was left to raise five children. Novak began her acting career in 1917 in L-KO's Roped into Scandal, followed by another seven films that same year. She appeared in 17 films in 1918, and another eight in 1919. In 1920, she starred opposite Tom Mix in The Daredevil, one of six film roles she would have that year, and one of ten films in which she starred opposite Mix. In 1921, she married stuntman William Reed, whom she met while on location for a film. They had two daughters Vivian Barbara and Pamela Eve. Novak was interested in stunt performing herself, having been taught by Mix to perform many of her own stunts. From 1921 to 1928, she appeared in and starred in 48 films, including an early version of Boston Blackie. She also co-starred with Betty Bronson and Jack Benny in The Medicine Man (1930) and appeared in the 1922 film Chasing the Moon, which was an early forerunner of the 1950s film D.O.A. In the late 1920s, she and her husband moved to Australia, where she made numerous films, including The Romance of Runnibede. However, with the advent of "talking films", her popularity faded. She would continue to act, but mostly in obscure roles. She appeared in 123 films between 1917 and 1965, when she retired. She was residing in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles at the time of her death from pneumonia at the age of 90, on April 17, 1988. In May 1923, the Altoona Tribune held a contest to find the girl who most closely resembled Novak. An announcement in the newspaper said that the winner would receive $250 worth of clothes from a store.
MovieWild Seed
1965
as Mrs. Simms
TVThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
as Mrs. Hayes
MovieThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
as Townswoman (uncredited)
MovieSergeant Rutledge
1960
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
MovieDuel at Apache Wells
1957
as Mrs. Munn (uncredited)
MovieTall Man Riding
1955
as Mrs. Henderson (uncredited)
MovieSunset Boulevard
1950
as Courtier (uncredited)
MovieThe Blonde Bandit
1949
as Jail Matron
MovieHellfire
1949
as Indian Woman (uncredited)
Movie3 Godfathers
1948
as Townswoman (uncredited)
MovieFour Faces West
1948
as Mrs. Winston
MovieI, Jane Doe
1948
as Jury Woman
MovieBlackmail
1947
as Mamie, the Maid
MovieRobin Hood Of Texas
1947
as Guest
MovieThat Brennan Girl
1946
as Miss Novak - Elderly Woman (uncredited)
MovieThe Bells of St. Mary's
1945
as Nun (uncredited)
MovieApology for Murder
1945
as Maid
MovieThe Fatal Witness
1945
as Elsie - Vera's Maid (uncredited)
MoviePhantom of the Desert
1930
as Mary Van Horn
MovieThe Medicine Man
1930
as Hilda
The Romance of Runnibede
1928
as Dorothy Winchester
MovieFor the Term of His Natural Life
1927
as Sylvia Vickers
MovieRed Signals
1927
as Mark Bryson
Movie30 Below Zero
1926
as Ann Ralston
MovieNo Man's Gold
1926
as Jane Rogers
MovieThe Dixie Flyer
1926
as Rose Rapley / Rose Jones
MovieSay It with Babies
1926
MovieIrene
1926
as Eleanor Hadley
MovieThe Northern Code
1925
as Marie La Fane
MovieSally
1925
as Rosie Lafferty
MovieThe Triflers
1924
as Beatrice Noyes
MovieLaughing at Danger
1924
as Carolyn Hollister
MovieWomen First
1924
as Jennie Doon
The Beautiful Sinner
1924
as Alice Carter
MovieThe Fatal Mistake
1924
as Ethel Bennett
MovieRacing for Life
1924
as Grace Danton
MovieThe Battling Fool
1924
as Helen Chadwick
MovieListen Lester
1924
as Mary Dodge
MovieThe Man Life Passed By
1923
as Joy Moore
MovieBoston Blackie
1923
as Mary Carter
MovieThe Tiger's Claw
1923
as Harriet Halehurst
MovieTemptation
1923
as Marjorie Baldwin
MovieDollar Devils
1923
as Amy Andrews
Making a Man
1922
as Patricia Owens
MovieThe Great Night
1922
as Mollie Martin
MovieThe Man Who Saw Tomorrow
1922
as Vonia
MovieThe Man from Hell's River
1922
as Mabella
MovieUp and Going
1922
as Jackie McNabb
MovieChasing the Moon
1922
as Jane Norworth
MovieSky High
1922
as Estelle Halloway - his ward
MovieTrailin'
1921
as Sally Fortune
MovieThe Last Trail
1921
as Winifred Samson
MovieThe Rough Diamond
1921
as Gloria Gómez
MovieWolves of the North
1921
as Aurora Norris
MovieThe Smart Sex
1921
as Rose
MovieSociety Secrets
1921
as Louise
MovieO'Malley of the Mounted
1921
as Rose Lanier
MovieThe Torrent
1921
as Velma Patton
MovieThe Testing Block
1920
as Nelly Gray
MovieWanted at Headquarters
1920
Up in Mary's Attic
1920
as Mary
MovieDesert Love
1920
as Dolly Remington
MovieThe Daredevil
1920
as Alice Spencer
MovieSilk Husbands and Calico Wives
1920
as Georgia Wilson
MovieThe Feud
1919
as Betty Summers / Betty Brown
MovieThe Speed Maniac
1919
as Pearl Matthews
All Jazzed Up
1919
as Dainty Dotty
The King of the Kitchen
1918
as Her niece
MovieThe Belles of Liberty
1918
as Trixie
MovieA Blind Pig
1918
as The Sheriff's Daughter
MovieThe Sign of the Cucumber
1917
MovieHearts and Flour
1917
