Viola Savoy

Viola Savoy (23 July 1899–February 1987) was an American actress of the silent era remembered today for her early film interpretation of the title role in Alice in Wonderland (1915). Savoy was born in Brooklyn in New York City in 1899. As a young child Savoy made a number of appearances on the stage, with some sources claiming she had performed in a hundred and twenty five theatre productions, ranging from Broadway to touring stock companies. Savoy said she was named after Viola in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a role she wished to play. By 1912 she became known for her portrayal of Virgie Cary in the stage drama The Littlest Rebel, a role later played by Shirley Temple in the 1935 film of the same name. Of her performance, the critic of the Des Moines Tribune wrote: "Viola Savoy Is a deserving favorite in the part of the Littlest Rebel, and plays with unusual insight and feeling." Aged 15, she played Alice in the 1915 silent film Alice in Wonderland. The film's director, W. W. Young, in an introduction written for a benefit performance at Bryn Mawr College in 1915, wrote of her: And there is delightful lit... ()