Zalla Zarana (July 16, 1897 – July 12, 1967) was an American actress in the silent era. She is considered to be the first

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n actress to have succeeded in Hollywood.

Biography

Zarana was born on July 16, 1897 in Žužemberk, in the region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. She left for the U. S. at age seventeen and moved in with her aunt in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. She went to night classes to learn English, typing and accounting. She accompanied her German-born friend Isabelle Grenner to Los Angeles in 1917 and sought to become an actress. She went from studio to studio and eventually succeeded with a bit part as a Spanish dancer in ''The Flame of the Yukon''. She worked as an extra in

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

with

William S. Hart William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and inte ...

and earned high-profile roles in 1922 as the femme fatale in two low-budget shoot-em-ups, ''

Back Fire ''Back Fire'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Alan James and starring Jack Hoxie, Florence Gilbert, and Lew Meehan James Lew Meehan (September 7, 1890 – August 10, 1951) was an American film actor. Meehan appear ...

'', with

Jack Hoxie John Hartford Hoxie (January 11, 1885 – March 28, 1965) was an American rodeo performer and motion-picture actor whose career was most prominent in the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1930s. Hoxie is best recalled for his roles in ...

, and ''Silver Spurs'', starring Lester Cuneo. For the latter film, she was promoted in ads as Hollywood's "First Jugo-Slav Beauty." She preferred exotic characters, dancers and vamps and played in at least 20 films. Her career was modest, but she shared scenes with future stars, like Stan Laurel and

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

, and was cast in small roles in major productions, such as

Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...

's flashy friend in ''The Merry Widow'', directed by Erich von Stroheim, and a

freak show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...

half-lady opposite John Gilbert in ''The Show'', directed by

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 vari ...

. With the advent of sound films, she retired from the screen and married in 1930. She occasionally performed on stage and wrote plays.

Partial filmography

*'' ''The Flame of the Yukon'''' (1917) *'' Cupid's Day Off'' (1919) *'' Silver Spurs'' (1922) *''

'' (1922) *'' ''The Wheel of Fortune'''' (1923) *''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

'' (1925) *'' The Lady Who Lied'' (1925) *'' The Winding Stair'' (1925) *''

Navy Blue Days ''Navy Blue Days'' is a 1925 American film starring Stan Laurel. Cast * Stan Laurel as Stan * Julie Leonard as Grenadine * Glen Cavender as Pete Vermicelli See also * List of American films of 1925 * Stan Laurel filmography This is a list of f ...

'' (1925) (short) *'' The Yokel'' (1926) (short) *''

Butterflies in the Rain ''Butterflies in the Rain'' is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Edward Sloman and starring Laura La Plante, James Kirkwood and Dorothy Cumming.Munden p.730 The film is set in England and is based on a novel by the British ...

'' (1926) *'' Lightnin' Wins'' (1926) (short) *'' The Show'' (1927) *'' The Heart Thief'' (1927) *'' Turkish Howls'' (1927) (short) *''

What Price Love? ''What Price Love?'' (german: Was kostet Liebe?) is a 1929 German silent film directed by E. W. Emo and starring Igo Sym. The film's art direction was by . Cast In alphabetical order * as Celestine *Max Freiburg as a servant *Mizzi Griebl * L ...

'' (1927) *''

A Ship Comes In ''A Ship Comes In'' (also known as ''His Country'') is a 1928 silent film which tells the story of immigrants coming to the United States. It stars Rudolph Schildkraut, Louise Dresser, Milton Holmes, Linda Landi, and Fritz Feld. The movie was ...

'' (1928) *'' The Big City'' (1928) *'' West of Zanzibar'' (1928) *''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

'' (1928) *'' Man, Woman and Wife'' (1929)

Notes

References

External links

* * 1897 births 1967 deaths Slovenian actresses Slovenian silent film actresses American film actresses 20th-century American actresses American people of Slovenian descent {{Slovenia-actor-stub