Roberta Wilson
Roberta Wilson was an American actress who appeared in several silent films. She had three sisters, and all the young women would eventually act in films. Roberta and her older sister Lois Wilson were born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while her two youngest sisters were born in Chicago, Illinois. In 1907, when Roberta was 11, the entire household moved to Birmingham, Alabama. Roberta and Lois would always regard Alabama as their home. Lois Wilson, the oldest of the girls, would end up experiencing the longest career in films, including both silent and sound pictures.
In 1915, Roberta was coaxed into acting by her older sister. After making several uncredited appearances, her career blossomed in 1916. By the end of 1916, she was receiving top billing, and the movie colony glitterati affectionately called her "Bobby." Her star was rising, and 1916 would become the most productive year of her entire movie career. During this time, Roberta and Lois became known as the "Alabama beauties." Roberta completed 24 films between 1916 and 1918, most of them two-reel shorts. This first phase lasted until Roberta's marriage in 1918. She departed the silver screen at age 21 to concentrate on her marriage.
After the collapse of her first marriage, she reinvented herself as Diana Kane. She knew the name change was needed because her motion picture career always existed in the shadow of her famous sister Lois. Whenever the media listed Roberta Wilson or Diana Kane in print, the name was accompanied by parentheses and the phrase – sister of Lois Wilson. Roberta's film production in 1916 proved she did not need additional endorsements.
Between 1924 and 1927, she acted in eight feature films as Diana Kane. She received critical praise for all of her performances. Roberta Wilson worked in 31 movies between 1916 and 1927. This second stint of movie-making came to a close with her second marriage in 1927. She would never return to the silver screen again in a credited role. Instead, she was content to focus her energy on charity work, children, entertaining, and preserving successful marriages.
Roberta's age seemed to fluctuate depending on the source. Many actors of this period and successive eras believed they would extend their careers by remaining youthful. In Roberta's case, the media of the period reported her birth year to be between 1896 and 1905. A verifiable birth certificate could settle the controversy, but the whereabouts of Roberta Wilson's original birth certificate remains a mystery.
Early life 1896–1915
When Roberta Wilson's father, Andrew Wilson, was 14 years old, his family emigrated from Ottawa, Canada to the United States.The Wilson Family settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When Andrew was 23, he met 19-year-old Grace Stock. Grace was from an established family in nearby Franklin, Pennsylvania. Grace Stock married Andrew Wilson in Pittsburgh on September 7, 1893.
They had their first child, Lois, on June 28, 1894. Their second daughter, Roberta, was born on January 15, 1896. When Roberta was born, Grace Wilson was experiencing the initial stages of Consumption. In 1897, she traveled to one of the sanatoriums in Los Angeles, California, for treatment. Southern California had become an epicenter for people having tuberculosis, chronic pneumonia, cirrhosis, and jaundice. People who flocked to these sanatoriums believed the sunshine and temperate climate would cure these conditions.
Grace Wilson was -years old when she died in Los Angeles on September 11, 1897. The cause was listed as "Tuberculosis of the lungs." When their biological mother dies, Lois is, and Roberta is. Since Roberta was a toddler when her mother died, she would have no memory of her biological mother.
After Grace's death, Roberta's father moved to Chicago, Illinois. The reasons behind the move are unknown. The 1900 Census listed him as a mercantile reporter. While residing in Chicago, he met Constance Dooling, and they married on August 17, 1899. Andrew is and Constance. Since Roberta was very young when her biological mother died, Constance would become Roberta's de facto mother for the rest of her life. This explains why Roberta would always list her mother as Constance. While living in Chicago, Andrew and Constance have a daughter, Janice, born on October 28, 1900, and another daughter, Constance, on September 13, 1903.
In 1907, Andrew, Constance, and the four girls moved to Birmingham, Alabama. Andrew and Constance have a listing in the 1909 and 1910 Birmingham phone directories. The 1910 census reveals the entire family living in Birmingham, Alabama. The children are Lois,, Roberta,, Janis,, and Constance,.
Some reporters have implied there was significance that the family moved to the "Pittsburgh of the South." There is no published evidence to support this.
In 1915, Roberta Wilson lived in Birmingham with her father and stepmother, Constance. She is years old. One news article states, "when at finishing school she took part in all branches of athletics." That same year, Roberta's sister, Lois, moves to California after winning a beauty contest put on by Universal Studios and The Birmingham News. This beauty pageant was the predecessor to the Miss Alabama. Lois Wilson is the original Miss Alabama.
Roberta's sister, Lois, started making films in 1915. 21-year-old Lois Wilson's first movie was, a 2-reel short for Universal released in November 1915. Lois becomes convinced her younger sister should follow her to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune. In 1915, 19-year-old Roberta Wilson heeded her sister's advice and settled in Hollywood. She accepted, playing minor parts until her experience secured more demanding roles. She gained an increasing reputation and respect among her colleagues for her excellent acting. 1916 would become her Golden Age in filmmaking.
Films 1916–1918
The studio directory item on the right states Roberta Wilson started working for Universal in November 1915. Like most aspiring actors, she had to earn her acting chops in minor uncredited roles. There are no published listings of these early films.1916 would prove to be a banner year for Roberta Wilson. It would mark the highest yearly film output of her entire acting career. Wilson would receive on-screen credit for 12 movies, including 3 features and 9 short films. She had gone from uncredited to shared top billing in a matter of months. She was skilled in her craft and worked hard at perfecting her performances. Her ascension to top billing was not based on the influence of her more famous sister but rather on her determination to achieve success in her chosen art form.
Wilson appeared in her first Universal movie with an onscreen credit –. The 2-reel society drama was released on April 25, 1916, and produced by Universal. The magazine ads for the film list G. Raymond Nye and Roberta Wilson as the featured leads under the direction of Jacques Jaccard.
After her introduction as a female lead in, her leading man, G. Raymond Nye, and director Jacques Jaccard would unite to make four more films:,
They sprinkled these initial offerings with a short comedy,, with Eddie Lyons and Roberta Wilson as the featured leads, released in July 1916.
All of these short films were released between April and August 1916.
Roberta Wilson's first feature-length film was the Universal Red Feature production of. Filming started in August 1916, and the film was released on October 30, 1916. The film opened to mostly positives reviews. The movie ad from the October 1916 issue Moving Picture World, December 1916 edition shows Roberta sharing top billing with Frank Whitson and Hayward Mack under the direction of Burton George. Her rise to top billing was remarkably fast. Before shooting her next feature-length film, she released on November 11.
Wilson's second feature-length film was the Universal Red Feather production of. The film was released on November 13, 1916. Magazine articles stated that the film began as a Bluebird production but ultimately didn't meet Bluebird standards. The film was finally released as a Red Feather Photoplay.
Wilson filmed two more short films, and, before releasing her final Feature-length film for 1916 – the Bluebird production of The Right to Be Happy. The Christmas production was appropriately released on December 25, 1916, even though that was not the planned release date. Roberta Wilson received credit on the film's poster. This film capped a successful first year for Roberta Wilson.
All the magazine ads show Roberta Wilson standing as a top cast member on her own acting legs with no behind-the-scenes support from her sister, Lois, or friends in the industry.
In 1917, Roberta Wilson appeared in 8 films, including 1 feature and 7 shorts. March would prove to be her most productive month of the year. March 1917 saw the release of 6 films, starting with the Universal feature-length Comedy followed by seven short films, including,, and.
Perils of the Secret Service – was a 9-episode series of two-reel adventure films. Wilson would act in 2 of the nine episodes – the fourth episode released March 30 and the fifth episode released in April. Wilson's last film of 1917 was.
In 1918, her film appearances continued to decline. Her last short film for Universal was, released in January 1918 by a Universal subsidiary Nestor Film Company. Roberta signed on with the movie company, Paralta Plays. She acted in two feature-length films, Shackled released in May and. With the July 14, 1918 release of, Roberta Wilson believed she had released her last film. Ironically, was written by Ouida Bergere, the wife of famous director George Fitzmaurice. A decade later, Diana Kane would wed the divorced director.
Wilson had decided to give up Hollywood for marriage. Roberta could not shake her belief that she was living in the shadow of her famous older sister. Most magazine and newspaper articles refer to Roberta as Lois Wilson's sister. In September 1918, Roberta exchanged wedding vows and "severed her connection with the movie world." All of Roberta Wilson's films made during this period are lost except the 1916 release of