William Garwood, Billy Bitzer, Rex Ingram, D W Griffith, J Gordon Edwards
Violet Mersereau (October 2, 1892 – November 12, 1975) was an American stage and film actress. Over the course of her screen career, Mersereau appeared in over 100 short and silent film features.
Mersereau was born in New York City and had a younger sister, Claire (1894-1982). Mersereau's father died when she was 9-years old. Mersereau's maternal grandmother, Mme. Luzanzie, had been a noted stage actress in France. While Mersereau's own mother had acting aspirations, she never pursued a career in acting but decided to allow her children to begin acting.
At the age of 8, Mersereau played child parts in repertory theatre. She toured with Margaret Anglin and portrayed the role of "Flora" in the original company of The Clansman. The play continued to show for three years. During her time as a stage actress, Mersereau was given the nickname "The Child Wonder". She also starred on the touring production of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and then became a screen actress.
Screen career
In 1908, Mersereau made her first film for the Biograph Company. She stayed with the company until 1911. Mersereau then signed with Independent Moving Pictures where she appeared in ingenue roles. She found success with these roles and was often cast as innocent young helpless girls which was a popular staple in films at the time. When Independent Moving Pictures and several other studios merged to form Universal Pictures, Mersereau continued working for Universal. During this time, Mersereau appeared in several short films alongside William Garwood (who often directed the films).
In 1916, Carl Laemmle decided to open one of his eastern United States studios for Mersereau's own productions. Laemmle engaged Oscar A. C. Lund to direct her in these features. Mersereau had always exhibited a distinct preference for working in the East, and disliked California. Among her most successful ventures for Blue Bird and Universal include The Boy Girl (1917), Morgan's Raiders (1918), Little Miss Nobody (1917), Susan's Gentleman (1917), The Honor of Mary Blake (1916), Souls United (1917), Autumn (1916), and The Little Terror (1917).
The most acclaimed project of Mersereau's final period was Nero (1922), directed by J. Gordon Edwards, grandfather of Blake Edwards. she continued in motion pictures into the 1920s with her final film being The Wives of the Prophet (1926), in which she had the role of Alma.
Death
Violet Mersereau died on November 12, 1975 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, at the age of 83.
Filmography
Actress
1926
The Wives of the Prophet as
Alma
1925
The Bride (Short)
1924
Her Own Free Will as
Mona Everard
1924
Lend Me Your Husband as
Jenny MacDonald
1923
The Shepherd King as
Princess Michal
1923
Luck as
Sylvia Templeton
1922
Nero as
Marcia
1921
Out of the Depths
1921
Thunderclap as
Betty - The Girl
1921
Finders Keepers as
Amy Lindel
1919
Love Wins
1919
A Proxy Husband (Short)
1919
Klever Kiddies (Short)
1918
Together as
Mrs. Richard Standhope / Laura Stanhope / Larry, the 'Kid'
1918
The Midnight Flyer (Short) as
Evelyn
1918
The Nature Girl as
Dolores Winthrop
1918
Morgan's Raiders as
Betsey Dawley
1917
The Girl by the Roadside as
Judith Ralston
1917
The Raggedy Queen as
Tatters
1917
The Little Terror as
Tina and Alice
1917
Little Miss Nobody as
Bonnie
1917
Susan's Gentleman as
Nancy Croyden / Susan Flynn
1917
The Boy Girl as
'Jack' Channing
1917
Souls United (Short) as
Marcia Randall
1917
The Mystery of My Lady's Boudoir (Short) as
Margaret Norton
1916
The Honor of Mary Blake as
Mary Blake
1916
The Girl Who Didn't Tell (Short) as
Judith Belgraff
1916
The Angel of the Attic (Short) as
Betty Kane
1916
The Narrow Path as
Bessie Allen
1916
The Gentle Art of Burglary (Short) as
Eva Warren
1916
Broken Fetters as
Mignon - As an Adult
1916
His Picture (Short) as
Edith Lovejoy
1916
The Go-Between (Short) as
Rosemary Brandon
1916
The Great Problem as
Peggy Carson
1916
Autumn as
Autumn Arden / Jeanette Arden
1916
The Doll Doctor (Short) as
Violet Talmadge
1916
The Path of Happiness as
Joan - The Child of Nature
1915
Getting His Goat (Short) as
Violet
1915
The Unnecessary Sex (Short) as
Violet
1915
The Wolf of Debt as
Helen Stanhope
1915
Billy's Love Making (Short) as
Violet Hughes
1915
Driven by Fate (Short) as
Violet Marcel
1915
Thou Shalt Not Lie (Short) as
Violet Garson
1915
Copper (Short) as
Violet
1915
Larry O'Neill -- Gentleman (Short) as
Mildred
1915
The Alibi (Short) as
Violet Herbert - the Wife
1915
You Can't Always Tell (Short) as
Violet
1915
Destiny's Trump Card (Short) as
Violet Avery - Bill's Wife
1915
Uncle's New Blazer (Short) as
Violet
1915
The Blank Page (Short) as
The Scientist's Young Wife
1915
The Adventure of the Yellow Curl Papers (Short) as
Flo Chadwick
1915
Wild Blood (Short) as
Bess Browne - Mountain Girl
1915
The Broken Toy (Short) as
Merle - The Mother
1915
The Supreme Impulse (Short) as
Ann Donnelson
1915
Uncle John (Short) as
Helen - the Artist
1915
The Destroyer (Short) as
Dorothy Trask
1915
The Treason of Anatole (Short) as
Mrs. Von Holm
1915
The Stake (Short) as
Mary
1915
The Avalanche as
Rose Grey
1915
The Awaited Hour (Short) as
Mrs. Frank Colby
1915
On Dangerous Ground (Short) as
The Banker's Daughter
1915
She Was His Mother (Short) as
Violet - The Mother
1914
Within the Gates of Paradise (Short)
1914
Peg o' the Wilds (Short) as
Peg
1914
In Self Defense (Short) as
Vivian Norton
1914
The Tenth Commandment (Short) as
The Doctor's Nurse
1914
Redemption (Short)
1914
When the Heart Calls (Short) as
Billy's Wife
1914
The Spitfire as
Valda Girard
1913
Big Sister (Short) as
Adele - The Younger Sister
1913
Binks, the Hawkshaw (Short)
1913
The Stolen Love (Short) as
Jennie
1913
The Stranger (Short) as
Jen
1913
The Drummer's Note Book (Short) as
Violet (unconfirmed)
1912
The Shot That Failed (Short) as
Nela
1912
Her First Choice (Short) as
Mabel
1912
A Western Girl's Dream (Short) as
May Arnold
1912
An Even Break (Short) as
Elvira
1912
The New Clerk (Short) as
Constance - The Old Grocer's Daughter
1911
Only an Iceman (Short) as
Violet Claire
1911
Over the Hills (Short)
1911
His Vacation (Short) as
Violet Dandy - the Village Belle
1911
Those Jersey Cowpunchers (Short)
1911
Across the Divide (Short) as
Mary (unconfirmed)
1911
The Parson and the Bully (Short) as
The Parson's Daughter (unconfirmed)
1911
Alias Yellowstone Joe (Short) as
The Sheriff's Daughter
1911
A Message from the West (Short) as
Mary Merriman - the Wife
1911
At Sunset Ranch (Short) as
Jessie Crawford, the Rancher's Daughter
1911
The Sheriff's Mistake (Short) as
Tom's Wife
1911
The Cowpuncher (Short) as
Jack's Sweetheart
1911
His Trust Fulfilled (Short)
1911
His Trust: The Faithful Devotion and Self-Sacrifice of an Old Negro Servant (Short)
