Jane Novak
| Jane Novak | |
|---|---|
In 1921, photographed by Frederick Seely
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|
| Born |
Johana B. Novak January 12, 1896 St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Died | February 3, 1990 (aged 94) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Occupation | Actress, author |
| Years active | 1913–1954 |
| Spouse(s) | Frank Newburg (1915-18) |
Jane Novak (January 12, 1896 – February 3, 1990) was an American actress of the silent film era. She was the sister of actress Eva Novak, and niece of actress Anne Schaefer.
Jane Novak was born Johana B. Novak in St. Louis, Missouri to Bohemian immigrant Joseph Novak and wife Barbara. Her father died when she was a child and her mother was left to raise 5 children. Novak attended School Sisters of Notre Dame convent school in St. Louis, but ran away with a friend with whom she created a vaudeville act. Although she returned home her aunt, actress Anne Schaefer, invited her to California where she began acting in motion pictures in 1913 at the age of 17. The actress began in a stage stock company with her uncle in St. Louis. Novak's career extended into the sound film medium, appeared in a total of 115 movies in her career.
She appeared in a movie on her very first day in southern California, before there was a film studio in Hollywood. There she met Frank Newburg, who was, at the time, leading man to Ruth Roland at the Kalem and American Mutoscope and Biograph companies. Newburg took her to a studio in Santa Monica, California, where her aunt, Anne Schafer, was a popular star. Newburg and Novak later married in 1915 and had one daughter. However, the marriage was short lived and the couple divorced in 1918.
Novak endured as a performer, in part, by sacrificing sensational roles for roles as leading women in more wholesome films. Some actresses who were Novak's contemporaries quickly found stardom, yet were forgotten soon afterward, while she was considered an "old-fashioned girl." As a result, Novak, refused to work in films with other leading ladies. She played opposite Wallace Beery, Tom Mix, Hobart Bosworth, Alan Hale, Thomas Moore, and Lewis Stone. At one time she was engaged to marry Western star William S. Hart, although their marriage never took place. She is celebrated for her westerns; and made five films with Hart.
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