Poor Little Rich Girl

Viola Dana was born Virginia Flugrath on June 26, 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. Dana became a child star, appearing on the stage at the age of three. She read Shakespeare and particularly identified with the teenage Juliet and enjoyed a long run at the Hudson Theater in New York City. At the age of sixteen Dana was a particular favorite of audiences with her performance in David Belasco’s “Poor Little Rich Girl”. She went into vaudeville with Dustin Farnum in “The Little Rebel” and played a bit part in “The Model” by Augustus Thomas. Dana 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). Dana secured another lead in “The Innocence of Ruth” (1916) and then starred in “The Girl Without a Soul” and “Blue Jeans” (both in 1917) for Metro Pictures Corporation. She continued to act throughout the 1920s with her most notable role coming in 1926 as Katie O’Doone in “Bred in Old Kentucky”. In the late 1920′s Dana’s popularity began to wane and her final silver screen role was in “One Splendid Hour” (1929) after which Dana retired from films.

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