Mona Barrie


Mona Barrie was an English-born actress, active on stage in Australia before establishing a career in the US, and in Hollywood films.

Career

Born Mona Barlee Smith in London to comedian Phil Smith and variety performer Jessie Barlee, she lived in Australia from 1914, and made her professional debut as Mona Barlee on stage in a 1922 J.C. Williamson production of The Merry Widow. For the next 10 years, she performed for J.C. Williamson's, mostly in musical comedies and earning a popular reputation, appearing with numerous Australian-based variety stars, including Roy Rene. She also appeared in His [Royal Highness (1932 film)|His Royal Highness], her first film, with Australian comedian George Wallace.
In 1933, she emigrated to New York City; she was given a test for films, which led to signing with Fox Film Corporation. She made her first U.S. film Sleepers East using the stage name Mona Barrie.
While her lack of a glamorous beauty resulted in her generally being cast in important but secondary roles, during a film career spanning almost 20 years, she appeared in more than 50 films. She co-starred in 1942's Dawn on the Great Divide, the last film Buck Jones made before he died in the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston, Massachusetts. Barrie also performed at various playhouses across the U.S, debuting on Broadway in 1937 as Lady Agatha in Arthur Schwartz's Virginia.
For her contributions to the film industry, Barrie received a List of actors with [Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars|motion pictures star] on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Her star is located at 6140 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

She married Charles Harold Rayson in Melbourne, Australia in July 1928; however the marriage was not a success, and a divorce was granted in 1931. In 1938, she married Canadian Paul Macklin Bolton. Both unions were childless.
Barrie died in 1964 in Los Angeles, aged 54, from undisclosed causes. She and Bolton are interred together in the Knox United Church Cemetery in Agincourt, Toronto.

Family

Barrie's sister, Rene Barlee, was a variety artist in Australia in the 1920s, and her brother, Roly Barlee, was chief announcer for Melbourne radio station 3UZ.

Partial filmography