
Eva Novak
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1898-02-14
Day of Death
1988-04-17 (90 years old)
Place of Birth
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Eva Novak
Biography
Eva Barbara Novak (February 14, 1898 – April 17, 1988) was an American film actress, who was quite popular during the silent film era.
On February 14, 1898, Eva Barbara Novak was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Joseph Jerome Novak, an immigrant from Bohemia, and Barbara Medek. Her older sister, Johana, also became an actress. Joseph Novak died when Eva was still a child and Barbara was left to raise five children.
Novak began her acting career in 1917 in L-KO's Roped into Scandal, followed by another seven films that same year. She appeared in 17 films in 1918, and another eight in 1919. In 1920, she starred opposite Tom Mix in The Daredevil, one of six film roles she would have that year, and one of ten films in which she starred opposite Mix.
In 1921, she married stuntman William Reed, whom she met while on location for a film. They had two daughters Vivian Barbara and Pamela Eve.
Novak was interested in stunt performing herself, having been taught by Mix to perform many of her own stunts. From 1921 to 1928, she appeared in and starred in 48 films, including an early version of Boston Blackie. She also co-starred with Betty Bronson and Jack Benny in The Medicine Man (1930) and appeared in the 1922 film Chasing the Moon, which was an early forerunner of the 1950s film D.O.A. In the late 1920s, she and her husband moved to Australia, where she made numerous films, including The Romance of Runnibede. However, with the advent of "talking films", her popularity faded. She would continue to act, but mostly in obscure roles.
She appeared in 123 films between 1917 and 1965, when she retired. She was residing in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles at the time of her death from pneumonia at the age of 90, on April 17, 1988.
In May 1923, the Altoona Tribune held a contest to find the girl who most closely resembled Novak. An announcement in the newspaper said that the winner would receive $250 worth of clothes from a store.
Known For
Acting
(1965)
Wild Seed
as Mrs. Simms
(1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
as Townswoman (uncredited)
(1960)
Sergeant Rutledge
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
(1957)
Duel at Apache Wells
as Mrs. Munn (uncredited)
(1955)
Tall Man Riding
as Mrs. Henderson (uncredited)
(1950)
Sunset Boulevard
as Courtier (uncredited)
(1949)
(1949)
The Blonde Bandit
as Jail Matron
(1948)
3 Godfathers
as Townswoman (uncredited)
(1948)
I, Jane Doe
as Jury Woman
(1948)
Four Faces West
as Mrs. Winston
(1947)
Blackmail
as Mamie, the Maid
(1947)
Robin Hood Of Texas
as Guest
(1946)
That Brennan Girl
as Miss Novak - Elderly Woman (uncredited)
(1945)
The Bells of St. Mary's
as Nun (uncredited)
(1945)
Apology for Murder
as Maid
(1945)
The Fatal Witness
as Elsie - Vera's Maid (uncredited)
(1930)
The Medicine Man
as Hilda
(1930)
Phantom of the Desert
as Mary Van Horn
(1927)
Red Signals
as Mark Bryson
(1927)
For the Term of His Natural Life
as Sylvia Vickers
(1926)
Irene
as Eleanor Hadley
(1926)
The Dixie Flyer
as Rose Rapley / Rose Jones
(1926)
(1926)
30 Below Zero
as Ann Ralston
(1926)
No Man's Gold
as Jane Rogers
(1925)
Sally
as Rosie Lafferty
(1925)
The Northern Code
as Marie La Fane
(1924)
The Triflers
as Beatrice Noyes
(1924)
Laughing at Danger
as Carolyn Hollister
(1924)
Racing for Life
as Grace Danton
(1924)
The Battling Fool
as Helen Chadwick
(1924)
The Beautiful Sinner
as Alice Carter
(1923)
Temptation
as Marjorie Baldwin
(1923)
Boston Blackie
as Mary Carter
(1923)
The Man Life Passed By
as Joy Moore
(1923)
The Tiger's Claw
as Harriet Halehurst
(1922)
Sky High
as Estelle Halloway - his ward
(1922)
The Man from Hell's River
as Mabella
(1922)
Chasing the Moon
as Jane Norworth
(1922)
Making a Man
as Patricia Owens
(1922)
The Great Night
as Mollie Martin
(1922)
Up and Going
as Jackie McNabb
(1921)
Trailin'
as Sally Fortune
(1921)
The Torrent
as Velma Patton
(1921)
Society Secrets
as Louise
(1921)
O'Malley of the Mounted
as Rose Lanier
(1921)
The Smart Sex
as Rose
(1921)
The Last Trail
as Winifred Samson
(1921)
The Rough Diamond
as Gloria Gómez
(1921)
Wolves of the North
as Aurora Norris
(1920)
The Daredevil
as Alice Spencer
(1920)
The Testing Block
as Nelly Gray
(1920)
(1920)
Desert Love
as Dolly Remington
(1920)
Up in Mary's Attic
as Mary
(1919)
The Speed Maniac
as Pearl Matthews
(1919)
The Feud
as Betty Summers / Betty Brown
(1919)
All Jazzed Up
as Dainty Dotty
(1918)
The King of the Kitchen
as Her niece
(1918)
A Blind Pig
as The Sheriff's Daughter
(1918)
The Belles of Liberty
as Trixie