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, 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 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
His Royal Highness Carolina as Virginia BuchananSleepers East as Ada RobillardAll Men Are Enemies as Margaret ScropeSuch Women Are Dangerous as Wanda ParisOne Night of Love as Rosa LallyCharlie Chan in London as Lady Mary BristolI'll Fix It as Anne BarryMystery Woman as Margaret BenoitStorm Over the Andes as TheresaThe Unwelcome Stranger as Madeline ChamberlainLadies Love Danger as Rita WitherspoonThe Melody Lingers On as Sylvia TurinaKing of Burlesque as Rosalind CleveHere Comes Trouble as Evelyn HowardA Message to Garcia as Spanish SpyLove on the Run as Baroness Hilda SpandermannMountain Justice as Evelyn WayneI Met Him in Paris as Helen AndersSomething to Sing About as Stephanie 'Steffie' HajosLove, Honor and Behave as Lisa BlakeMen Are Such Fools as Beatrice HarrisSay It in French as Lady WestoverI Take This Woman as Sandra MayberryLove, Honor, and Oh Baby! as Deedee DoreeWho Killed Aunt Maggie? as Eve BenedictLady with Red Hair as Mrs. BrooksMurder Among Friends as Clair TurkWhen Ladies Meet as Mabel GuinessNever Give a Sucker an Even Break as The Producer's WifeEllery Queen and the Murder Ring as Nurse Marian TracySkylark as Charlette GorellRoad to Happiness as Millie RankinToday I Hang as Martha CourtneyA Tragedy at Midnight as Alta WiltonThe Strange Case of Doctor Rx as Eileen CrispinSyncopation as LillianLady in a Jam as Woman Cairo as Mrs. MorrisonDawn on the Great Divide as Sadie RandOne Dangerous Night as Jane MerrickStorm Over Lisbon as EvelynJust Before Dawn as Harriet TraversThe Devil's Mask as Louise MitchellThe Secret of the Whistler as Linda VailI Cover Big Town as Dora HiltonWhen a Girl's Beautiful as CordovaCass Timberlane as Avis EldermanMy Dog Rusty as Dr. Toni CordellThe First Time as Cassie MayhewStrange Fascination as Diana FowlerPlunder of the Sun as Tourist