Mona Darkfeather
Josephine M. Workman, better known by her stage name Princess Mona Darkfeather, was an American actress who starred in Native American and Western dramas. During the silent era of motion pictures, from 1911 to 1917, she appeared in 102 movies. She is best known for her role as Prairie Flower in The Vanishing Tribe.
Her career began in 1909 when she replied to a local newspaper advertisement placed by producer/director Thomas Ince's Bison Motion Pictures. The movie studio was looking for an actress with the physical attributes to portray an American Indian and who was physically capable of doing stunts and riding horses. While she had never acted before, Workman fit the appearance that Ince wanted. She apparently embellished her riding skills, as she did not have any, but nevertheless quickly learned horsemanship. Given the stage name Mona Darkfeather, she was cast in her first starring role as an Indian maiden named Owanee in the 1911 movie Owanee's Great Love.
Early life
She was born Josephine M. Workman in Boyle Heights, California, and baptized at the Plaza Church, Los Angeles, when she was four months old. A member of the prominent pioneer Workman-Temple family of Los Angeles, she was the daughter of Joseph Manuel Workman and Josephine Mary Belt. Her siblings were Mary Cristina Workman ; Agnes Elizabeth Workman ; Marie Lucile "Lucy" Workman ; William Joseph Workman ; George D. Workman ; and Nellie Workman.Her grandparents were William Workman, a native of England, and Nicolasa Urioste, who hailed from Taos, New Mexico. According to the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum, her paternal grandmother Nicolasa was of Taos Pueblo descent. Her mother was of Scottish and Chilean descent. Darkfeather claimed Spanish ancestry as well. In 1870, her grandfather, William Workman, deeded of land, a portion of the Rancho La Puente, to his son, Joseph M. Workman. Through this deed, the land would go to Joseph's children upon his death.
Her parents separated in 1893, and Josephine lived with her mother. Joseph Workman deeded his Rancho La Puente land to O.T. Bassett, in 1895. On March 22, 1915, Josephine Workman married David D. Parten, a law enforcement officer who died after being accidentally hit by a backing car.
Married life
In 1906, Darkfeather married Harry Martin Knoll, who died two years later in 1908. Darkfeather then married film director and actor Frank E. Montgomery in 1912. In 1914, Frank E. Montgomery moved to Spokane, Washington to open and direct at the Frank E. Montgomery of the Spokane School of Motion Picture Acting. Darkfeather became associated with the company as an instructor.Darkfeather and Montgomery divorced in 1928. In late 1928, Darkfeather married banker and financer Alfred Wessling until their divorce in 1935. On December 23, 1937, Montgomery and Darkfeather remarried after nine years of separation and remained married until Montgomery's death in 1944.
Film career
After replying in 1909 to a Bison Motion Pictures newspaper ad, which called for "exotic-looking girls" to play "Indian maidens", she soon became famous as "Princess Mona Darkfeather", noted for leaping onto her pinto pony, "Comanche", and galloping away bareback.Darkfeather was a noted moving picture artist who regularly starred in roles of Indian and Western dramas. Although she was mostly of European and Chilean descent, Darkfeather's early publicity claimed she was a full-blooded Blackfoot Indian. She said she was an Indian Princess and had been made a blood member of the Blackfoot Nation and given the title of princess by a "Chief Big Thunder".
She played Indian roles in one-reel western melodrama shorts, such as A White Indian and A Blackfoot's Conspiracy, as well as feature length movies. She was by then a major movie star. She also played leading roles as Spanish women in several historical dramas.
Darkfeather regularly appeared in Montgomery's films through various motion picture companies that he worked for, including Bison Company, Universal, Kalem Company, and Sawyer Inc. Under the tutelage of her husband/director Frank E Montgomery, Darkfeather played Indian and several Spanish leads in many Bison Company Productions. Darkfeather made movies for Bison starting in 1909, the Selig Polyscope Company between 1909 and 1913, Nestor Studios in 1912 and for Kalem Studios beginning in 1913. Montgomery directed her in the 101-Bison two-reeler The Massacre of the Fourth Cavalry. Other films he directed her in include A Forest Romance, For the Peace of Bear Valley and Justice of the Wild, all released in 1913, in which she played opposite Harry von Meter.
Darkfeather was Cecil B. DeMille's first choice to portray the Indian wife, Nat-u-ritch, in his famous western The Squaw Man, but she was too busy, as she and Montgomery were producing their own movies independently for release through the Kalem Company, and she was unavailable to play the role.
She and Montgomery joined the Universal Film Company in 1914 and continued to collaborate on scores of westerns. Darkfeather appeared in her last movie, The Hidden Danger, in 1917, then retired from the screen.
For a while after she retired as a screen actress, she performed on the stage and headlined as Princess Darkfeather. In late August 1918, she made a special appearance at the Liberty Theater in Tacoma, Washington, as actress, singer and lecturer. In her "rattlesnake" dress, she appeared after each showing of the feature movie, Eyes of the World starring Monroe Salisbury, to sing and give advice to all girls in the audience with ambition to enter show business.
She and her husband, Frank Montgomery, were living at 1117 3rd Avenue in Seattle, Washington, in September 1918, when he registered with the local draft board for World War I. He gave his present occupation as photoplay star manager. In 1920, they were back in Los Angeles, living at 2518 Maple Avenue.
Filmography
A Cheyenne's Love for a Sioux, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Frank MontgomeryOwanee's Great Love, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherA Squaw's Retribution, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherBlacksnake's Treachery, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherDarkfeather, the Squaw, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherAn Indian Love Story, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Dove EyeWhite Fawn's Peril, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherA Spanish Wooing, Selig Polyscope Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Sydney Ayres, Frank Richardson, Frank ClarkThe Night Herder, Selig Polyscope Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Tom Santschi, Frank Clark, Dell EaglesBunkie, Selig Polyscope Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Hobart Bosworth, Fred Huntley, Phil StrattonAs Told by Princess Bess, Selig Polyscope Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Eugenie Besserer, Hobart Bosworth, Frank RichardsonCrucial Test, A, Dir. Frank E Montgomery; Cast includes: Hobart Bosworth, Herbert Rawlinson, Tom Santschi, Mona Darkfeather, Fred Huntley, Roy WatsonAt Old Fort Dearborn, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Charles BartlettDarkfeather's Strategy, Selig Polyscope Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Hobart Bosworth, Tom Santschi, Frank RichardsonThe End of the Romance, Selig Polyscope Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Hobart Bosworth, Eugenie Besserer, Herbert RawlinsonThe Hand of Fate, Selig Polyscope Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Hobart Bosworth, Al Ernest Garcia, Fernando GálvezA White Indian, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherThe Massacre of Santa Fe Trail, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Lee Morris, Roy WatsonAt Old Fort Dearborn, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Charles BartlettWhen Uncle Sam Was Young, Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Virginia ChesterThe Tattoo, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, William Bertram, Artie Ortego, Jack LeonardStar Eyes' Stratagem, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Charles BartlettTrapper Bill, King of Scouts, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Roy WatsonA Red Man's Love, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, William Bertram, Charles Bartlett, Artie OrtegoAn Indian Ishmael, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Chief Harvey, Chief Phillipi, Roy WatsonBlackfoot Conspiracy, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherThe Half-Breed Scout, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Roy Watson, Charles Bartlett, Virginia ChesterThe Massacre of the Fourth Cavalry, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Roy Watson, William BertramBig Rock's Last Stand, Bison. Dir. Frank Montgomery; Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, William Bertram, Art Ortega, Virginia Chester, Roy WatsonApache Father's Vengeance, An Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherMona of the Modocs, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherThe Song of the Telegraph, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Charles BartlettThe Red Girl's Sacrifice, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherThe Return of Thunder Cloud's Spirit, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Helen CaseThe Half Breed Parson, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Francis Ford, Grace CunardOwana, the Devil Woman, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Artie OrtegoThe Spring in the Desert, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather and Artie OrtegoApache Love, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Chief HarveyMona, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, William Bertram, Artie OrtegoThe Snake, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Harry von Meter, Artie Ortego, Lee ShumwayDarkfeather's Sacrifice, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherJuanita, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, J. Gunnis Davis, Lawrence PeytonWhen the Blood Calls, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Lawrence PeytonThe Oath of Conchita, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherThe Love of Men, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherA Forest Romance, Bison. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Harry von Meter, J. Gunnis DavisFor the Peace of Bear Valley, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Harry von Meter, Inez FanjoyJustice of the Wild, Nestor Film Company. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Harry von Meter, L.J. AndersonAgainst Desperate Odds, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Rex Downs, Charles BartlettAn Indian Maid's Strategy, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Chief Eagle WingHer Indian Brother, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Anna De LisleA Dream of the Wild, Kalem. Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Artie OrtegoIndian Blood, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Buster EmmonsRed Hawk's Sacrifice, Kalem. Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Charles BartlettThe Paleface Brave, Kalem. Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Artie OrtegoThe Indian Ambuscade, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Artie OrtegoIndian Fate, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Lucille Neath, Charles BartlettAn Indian's Honor, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, Charles BartlettThe Tigers of the Hills, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Billie Rhodes, J. Gunnis DavisThe Hopi Raiders, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Rex Downs, Charles BartlettThe Medicine Man's Vengeance, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, J. Gunnis DavisHis Indian Nemesis, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Artie Ortego, J. Gunnis DavisThe Navajo Blanket, Kalem. Cast includes: Artie Ortego, Mona Darkfeather, Big MoonThe Fight on Deadwood Trail, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Anna De Lisle, Jack MessickGrey Eagle's Last Stand, Kalem. Cast includes: Big Moon, Eagle Feather, Mona DarkfeatherThe War Bonnet, Kalem. Cast includes: Artie Ortego, Mona Darkfeather, Rex DownsThe Redskins and the Renegades, Kalem. Cast includes: Big Moon, Mona Darkfeather, Chief Eagle WingBottled Spider, The Kalem. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherAt the End of the Rope, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherComing of Lone Wolf, The Kalem. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherCall of the Tribe, The Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Art Ortega, Big Moon, Eva SmithThe Squaw's Revenge, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Rex Downs, Juanita MartenisThe Gypsy Gambler, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona Darkfeather, Charles Bartlett, Rex DownsBrought to Justice Kalem. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherCave of Death, The, Kalem. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherVengeance of Winona, The The Stolen Invention, Monty Film. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherA Message for Help, Bison. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherNone So Blind Circle of Death, The, Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherThe Crimson Arrow, Universal. Cast includes: Mona DarkfeatherLater life
In late January 1921, she won a lawsuit in Los Angeles, which she initiated on June 24, 1918, against Charles N. Bassett to recover an interest in the Rancho La Puente land that her father sold to Bassett's father in 1895. Although she had been 12 years of age in 1895, she was never served with a summons to quit title as an heir of the property, as were her older brothers and sisters. The decision gave her a one-ninth interest in of what was said to be the largest walnut grove in California, at Bassett Station, near El Monte, and she was awarded a cash judgment for $129,163. The decision was reversed, however, by the Supreme Court at San Francisco, on September 22, 1922.Darkfeather and Montgomery were divorced in 1928. She was married again in 1928 to wealthy banker/financeer Alfred G. Wessling. In 1930, the Wesslings lived at 352 North Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia. They lived at 931 Manhattan Avenue in Hermosa Beach, in 1934.
She and Wessling were divorced in 1935. On December 23, 1937, she and Frank Montgomery, who was by then a technician of the Hal Roach Studios sound department, and was currently working on Merrily We Live starring Constance Bennett, were remarried in Darkfeather's home at 1420 ½ Mohawk Street, Echo Park. They remained married until his death in 1944.
Mona Darkfeather died at age 94 from a stroke, due to cerebral atherosclerosis, at a convalescent center on South Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles. She is interred in section K, lot 116, grave 7, in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, under the name Josephine Workman.