Virginia Brown Faire

Virginia Brown Faire
Born Virginia Labuna (or La Buna)
(1904-06-26)June 26, 1904
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died June 30, 1980(1980-06-30) (aged 76)
Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Other names Virginia Faire Brown, Virginia Brown Fair, Virginia Browne Faire
Occupation Actress
Years active 1920 - 1935
Spouse(s) Jack Dougherty (1927-1928, divorce)
Duke Worne (1930-1933, his death)
William Bayer (1935-1980, her death)

Virginia Brown Faire (June 26, 1904 – June 30, 1980) was an American silent-film actress, appearing in dramatic films and, later, in sound westerns.

Early years

The daughter of Joseph Labuna and Martha Delsand, Faire was born Virginia Labuna in Brooklyn, New York.[1] (Other sources have her last name as La Buna.)[2][3] She attended Wadleigh High School for Girls.[1]

She was brought to Hollywood in 1919 after being the winner of the Motion Picture Classic magazine's "Fame and Fortune" contest, which she had entered using as Virginia Brown, using her stepfather's last name.[3]

Film

Not long after she turned 15 years old that she presented herself at the Metro studio where she was almost immediately put on. Shortly after she appeared in pictures for Fox, she was with Universal.[4]

Between 1920 and 1935, she appeared in some 75 films. Her first film credit was the 1920 film Runnin' Straight, a Hoot Gibson short western at Universal. Faire was the leading lady of John Gilbert in Monte Cristo (1922). She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923 and appeared with Wallace and Noah Beery in Stormswept that same year. She is most remembered for her role as Tinker Bell in the 1924 film Peter Pan.[1]

In 1926 she had a small role in the Greta Garbo film The Temptress. She made it through the transition of sound, making a successful talkie in Frank Capra's The Donovan Affair (1929), but was soon appearing in more low-budget films. Faire appeared in several westerns, opposite Hoot Gibson, Buck Jones, John Wayne and Ken Maynard. Faire left Hollywood for Chicago, Illinois in the late 1930s. She worked in radio and several films for industries prior to retiring to the west coast.

Personal life

Faire married actor Jack Dougherty on February 6, 1927. They separated after one month and reconciled briefly, but she filed for divorce in June of that same year. She married director Duke Worne in January 1930. Worne died in 1933. In 1935, she married furniture manufacturer William Bayer, and they remained wed until her death.[2]

Death

Faire died of cancer in 1980 in Laguna Beach, California, aged 76.[2]

Selected filmography

Gleb W. Derujinsky with Faire as his model in 1920

References

  1. 1 2 3 Katchmer, George A. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 110. ISBN 9780786446933. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Wagner, Laura (Fall 2016). "Virginia Brown Faire: B Western Leading Lady". Films of the Golden Age (86): 72–73.
  3. 1 2 Slide, Anthony (2010). Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 121–125. ISBN 0813137454. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Charles Donald Fox & Milton L. Silver (1920). "Virginia Faire". Who's Who on the Screen. New York City: Ross Publishing. (Note: Not currently in copyright)
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