Zalla Zarana
Zalla Zarana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Rozalija Sršen July 16, 1897 |
| Died | July 12, 1967 (aged 69) |
| Other names | Zala Zorana, Zalla Zeranno |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1917–1928 |
| Spouse | Theodore G. Lohman |
Zalla Zarana (July 16, 1897 – July 12, 1967) was an American actress in the silent era. She is considered to be the first Slovenian actress to have succeeded in Hollywood.
Biography
Zarana was born on July 16, 1897[Note 1] in Žužemberk, in the region of Lower Carniola in Austria-Hungary. She left for the U. S. at age seventeen and moved in with her aunt in San Francisco. 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 with William S. Hart and earned her first important roles in 1922 as the femme fatale in two low-budget shoot-em-ups, Silver Spurs and Back Fire. For the latter film, she was promoted by the studio as "The First Jugo-Slav Beauty in Hollywood." She preferred exotic characters, apache dancers and vamps and shared scenes with future stars, like Stan Laurel and Gary Cooper. She played in at least 20 films, sometimes in small roles in major productions, such as Mae Murray's flashy friend in The Merry Widow, directed by Erich von Stroheim, and a freak show half-lady opposite John Gilbert in The Show, directed by Tod Browning. With the advent of sound films, she retired from the screen and married. She occasionally performed on stage and wrote plays.[6]
Partial filmography
- Silver Spurs (1922)
- Back Fire (1922)
- Wheel of Fortune (1923) (serial)
- The Merry Widow (1925)
- The Lady Who Lied (1925)
- Navy Blue Days (1925) (short)
- The Yokel (1926) (short)
- The Show (1927)
- West of Zanzibar (1928)
Notes
References
- ^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JJ79-DY6 : 16 August 2019), Rosalie Sersen, 1914.
- ^ "California, Southern District Court (Central) Naturalization Index, 1915-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KX3K-NPM : 12 March 2018), Zalla Or Rosalija Zarana Or Sersen, 1928; citing Naturalization, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1525 (United States: National Archives and Records Service, Los Angeles Branch, 2016).
- ^ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCFF-GG2 : accessed 25 January 2020), Zalla Zarana, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 836, sheet 6A, line 1, family 171, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 124; FHL microfilm 2,339,859.
- ^ "Vital Records". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 22, 1930. p. 23. Retrieved January 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP4Y-6NY : 26 November 2014), Zalla Z Lohman, 12 Jul 1967; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
- ^ Nose, Rok (July 24, 2017). "Iz Žužemberka odšla med zvezde Hollywooda". Dolenjski list. p. 17. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
External links
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