Celebrity Grave: Wanda Hawley, SIlent Film Actress

 

Wanda Hawley (a.k.a. Wanda Petit), (July 30, 1895 – March 18, 1963) was a veteran of the silent screen films era. She entered the theatrical profession with an amateur group in Seattle, and later toured the U.S. and Canada as a singer. She co-starred with Rudolph Valentino in the 1922's The Young Rajah, and rose to stardom in a number of Cecil B. DeMille and director Sam Wood's films.

Life and career

Hawley was born in Scranton, Pa., but together with her family moved to Seattle, Washington, when she was a child. She received her education in Seattle. Hawley made her screen debut with the William Fox Company and after playing with them for eight months joined time Lasky studio forces and appeared as leading lady for Douglas Fairbanks, in "Mr. Fix-it." She had also appeared opposite William S. Hart, Charlie Ray, Bryant Washburn, Wallie Reid and others. She was five feet three inches high, weighs a hundred and ten pounds, and had blond hair and greyish blue eyes. She was an able sportswoman.[1]

With the advent of sound, Hawley's career ended, and she reportedly was working as a call girl in San Francisco by the early 1930s.

 

Selected filmography

Mr. Fix-It (1918)
We Can't Have Everything (1918)
Old Wives for New (1918)
For Better, for Worse (1919)
The Affairs of Anatol (1921)
Bread (1924)
Smouldering Fires (1925)
The Wizard of Oz (1925)
The Midnight Message (1926)
Pirates of the Sky (1927)
The Eyes of the Totem (1927)
Trails of the Golden West (1931)

Reference

1.^ Charles Donald Fox & Milton L. Silver (1920). "Wanda Hawley". Who's Who on the Screen. New York City: Ross Publishing. http://silentladies.com/BHawleyW.html. (Note: Not currently in copyright)

Wanda Hawley is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.