- Born
- Died
- Birth nameVirginia Flugrath
- Nickname
- Vi
- Height4′ 11½″ (1.51 m)
- Viola Dana (real name Virginia Flugrath) was born in Brooklyn, NY, on June 26, 1897. She was the middle sister of three sisters (the other two were Edna Flugrath and Shirley Mason). She made her film debut in 1914 in Molly the Drummer Boy (1914). The following year she received top billing playing "Gladiola Bain" in Gladiola (1915). She was in top demand as evidenced by securing another lead in The Innocence of Ruth (1916). She continued to turn in great performances, particularly as Katie O'Doone in Bred in Old Kentucky (1926). Viola's final silver screen role was in 1929's One Splendid Hour (1929). The last the general public saw her was in a documentary about 'Buster Keaton' called Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987).
Viola died on July 3, 1987, at age 90.
- IMDb mini biography by: Denny Jackson
- SpousesJimmy Thomson(October 15, 1930 - March 30, 1945) (divorced)Maurice 'Lefty' Flynn(June 20, 1925 - February 14, 1929) (divorced)John H. Collins(1915 - October 23, 1918) (his death)
- RelativesShirley Mason(Sibling)Edna Flugrath(Sibling)
- Made her screen debut for Edison in 1910.
- Had a romantic relationship (1919-1920) with daredevil Hollywood pilot Ormer Locklear, who was married at the time. Locklear perished during a plane stunt that went wrong on August 2, 1920. She was present a the time of the incident.
- Her first husband, director John H. Collins died during the influenza epidemic of 1918.
- Screenland Magazine reported in January, 1922, that Dana and Bebe Daniels were more popular in Japan than Mary Pickford and Mary Miles Minter.
- Moved to Metro after the death of her director-husband John Collins in 1918. Stayed for eight years, then moved on to Paramount.
- [on her sister changing her screen name to Shirley Mason] I think she was annoyed when people started calling her Leonie Dana because she was my sister, so she took a brand new name, as, indeed, why shouldn't she, because she soon proved that she could be a star in her own right.
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