Acting · Buffalo, New York, USA · Born February 12, 1897
From Wikipedia She was born Vola Smith in Buffalo, New York. Vale was educated in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She began her career in amateur theatricals in Rochester, New York. Then she played in stock companies for a while. Her first movie experience was with Biograph, under the tutelage of the great film director D.W. Griffith. After a month of playing atmosphere parts, Vola was offered a genuine role. She wore a velvet gown with a train and a feathered hat. Soon she was appearing in short reel films for Biograph. Among the actors she was cast with were William S. Hart, Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, William Haines, Harry Carey, Tully Marshall and William Russell. She was adept in playing Spanish, Italian, French, and Gypsy roles. Aside from Biograph Vola worked for Fox Film, Famous Players-Lasky, Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures. Her ambition was to play Madame Butterfly with an actual Japanese company, as well as to act as Lorna Doone. She was most inspired by Hayakawa and hoped to learn to act inside, as he did. With Sessue Hayakawa she made Each To His Kind (1917). Before filming began it was decided that the name Smith was too common to be used by a motion picture star. She changed her professional name to Vola Vale.
MovieAdded Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story
2002
as Self (uncredited)
MovieOne Rainy Afternoon
1936
MovieTomorrow and Tomorrow
1932
as Townswoman
Black Tears
1927
MovieHome Sweet Home
1926
The Sky Pirate
1926
MovieTwo Can Play
1926
as Mimi Allen
MovieHer Big Adventure
1926
as Countess Fontaine
MovieLittle Annie Rooney
1925
as Mamie
Heartless Husbands
1925
as Mrs. Jackson Cain
MovieThe Phantom of the Opera
1925
as Ballerina / Christines Maid (uncredited)
MovieWho Cares
1925
as Tootles
MovieThe Mirage
1924
as Betty Bond
MovieThe Midnight Flower
1923
as Mary — a foundling
MovieMothers-in-Law
1923
as Ina Phillips
MovieThe Man Between
1923
as Rosie - Joe Cateau's Bride
MovieSoul of the Beast
1923
as Jacqueline
MovieCrashin' Thru
1923
as Diane
MovieGood Men and True
1922
as Georgie Hibbler
MovieThe Duke of Chimney Butte
1921
as Vesta Philbrook
MovieWhite Oak
1921
as Barbara
MovieThe Iron Rider
1920
as Mera Donovan
MovieSinging River
1920
as Alice Thornton
Someone in the House
1920
as Molly Brent
MovieThe Purple Cipher
1920
as Jeanne Baldwin
MovieCommon Sense
1920
as Violet Manners
A Master Stroke
1920
as Minnie Patton
MovieOverland Red
1920
as Louise Alacarme
MovieAlias Jimmy Valentine
1920
as Rose Lane
MovieSix Feet Four
1919
as Winifred Waverly
MovieHornet's Nest
1919
as Muriel Fletcher
MovieHearts Asleep
1919
as Virginia Calvert
MovieA Heart in Pawn
1919
as Emily Stone
MovieHappy Though Married
1919
as Diana Ramon
MovieThe Locked Heart
1918
as Ruth Mason
MovieWolves of the Rail
1918
as Faith Lawson
MovieThe Silent Man
1917
as Betty Bryce
MovieZollenstein
1917
as Princess Fulvia / Princess Zenia
MovieThe Son of His Father
1917
as Hazel Mallinsbee
The Lady in the Library
1917
as Mildred Vandeburg
MovieThe Secret of Black Mountain
1917
as Miriam Vale
The Topsy Turvy Twins
1917
as Mattie
The Bond Between
1917
as Ellen Ingram
MoviePerils of the Secret Service
1917
as Minna Ober (Episode #1)
The Last Cigarette
1917
as Minna Ober
Mentioned in Confidence
1917
as Marjorie Manning
MovieThe Winning of Sally Temple
1917
as Lady Pamela Vauclain
MovieEach to His Kind
1917
as Amy Dawe
It Sounded Like a Kiss
1916
as Estelle
MovieThe Price of Silence
1916
as Aline Urmy (as Vola Smith)
MovieThe Eagle's Wings
1916
as Kitty Miles (as Vola Smith)
The Woman He Feared
1916
as May Clive
A Great Love
1916
as Nell Woodward
MovieThe Soul of Pierre
1915
The Iron Master
1914
as The Iron Master's Sister (as Viola Smith)
Liberty Belles
1914
as Boarding Schoolgirl
