Wanda Wiley Explained

Wanda Wiley
Birth Date:April 20, 1901
Birth Place:New Boston, Texas, U.S.
Death Date:March 29, 1987 (aged 85)
Death Place:Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Other Names:Wanda Atkinson
Occupation:Actress

Wanda Wiley Atkinson (April 20, 1901 – March 29, 1987)[1] was an American silent film actress who appeared in dozens of comedy shorts between 1924 and 1927.

Early life and education

Wiley was born in New Boston, Texas, the youngest of twelve children born to James Alexander Wiley Sr. and Ida Ione Barnett Wiley. Her mother was born in Mississippi. She studied at the Texas Dental College before seeking a film career.[2] [3]

Career

Wiley was a comedian who appeared in dozens of short films between 1924 and 1927. She was athletic, and her films often featured her performing slapstick physical stunts. She suffered an injury when she was thrown from a startled horse on one film set.[4] She played a football player in Gridiron Gertie (1925).[5]

Wiley was under contract with the Century Film Corporation in 1925.[6] and was described that year as "one of the biggest individual moneymakers of all the comediennes in the picture business." She signed with Bray Productions in 1926.[7] She starred in a series of "What Happened to Jane" shorts in 1926 (Jane's Inheritance, Jane's Troubles, Jane's Engagement Party, Jane's Predicament, Jane's Honeymoon, and Jane's Flirtation),[8] before she was replaced in the role by Thelma Daniels in 1927.[9]

In the 1960s, Wanda Wiley Atkinson exhibited her paintings in New Mexico, and went to Paris to paint while her niece Patricia Boward pursued a modeling career.[10]

Films

1927

1926

1925

1924

Personal life and legacy

Wiley was injured during her silent film career,[18] and in a 1925 car accident in Los Angeles.[19] She married eye surgeon Donald Taylor Atkinson in 1935. Wiley's husband died in San Antonio in 1959,[20] and she died in 1987, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 85. Most, but not all, of her films are considered lost. A Thrilling Romance (1926) is in the collection of the Library of Congress.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Wiley's gravestone gives 1901 as her birth year; some sources give 1902 instead.
  2. August 2, 1924 . Wanda Wiley Gets Much-Needed Rest . Universal Weekly . 19 . 25 . 35 . Internet Archive.
  3. News: 1925-05-12 . Takes Vacation; Wanda Wiley Goes to Parental Home in Texas . 2024-09-23 . The Los Angeles Times . 29 . Newspapers.com.
  4. Book: Balducci, Anthony . Lloyd Hamilton: Poor Boy Comedian of Silent Cinema . 2023-01-11 . McFarland . 978-1-4766-5088-3 . 66 . en.
  5. September 5, 1925 . Scenes from the Wanda Wiley starring vehicle Gridiron Gertie, a Century comedy released through Universal . Motion Picture News . 1156 . Internet Archive.
  6. News: 1925-03-21 . Wanda Wiley May be Loaned to Germany . 2024-09-23 . Deseret News . 23 . Newspapers.com.
  7. https://archive.org/details/motionpic34moti/page/n625/mode/2up?q=%22Wanda+Wiley%22 "Bray Engages Wanda Wiley for Comedies Series"
  8. https://archive.org/details/motionpic34moti/page/n323/mode/2up?q=%22Wanda+Wiley%22 "Stern Bros. List 1927-28 Films"
  9. February 19, 1927 . Stern Brothers Start 'Jane', a New Series . Moving Picture World . 84 . 8 . 570.
  10. News: 1964-07-05 . Mrs. Atkinson and Niece to Summer in Europe . 2024-09-23 . Albuquerque Journal . 9 . Newspapers.com.
  11. Sewell . C. S. . January 1, 1927 . Timely Reviews of Short Subject Productions . Moving Picture World . 84 . 1 . 46.
  12. Thompson, Paul. "Jane's Engagement Party" (review), Motion Picture News 34(October 30, 1926): 1682. via Internet Archive
  13. https://archive.org/details/motionpic34moti/page/n627/mode/2up?q=%22Wanda+Wiley%22 "Opinions on Current Productions"
  14. https://books.google.com/books?id=GqhAtd7HyJkC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=%22Wanda%20Wiley%22%20actress&pg=RA24-PA17#v=onepage&q=%22Wanda%20Wiley%22%20actress&f=false "Short Feature Reviews"
  15. Smith, Chester J. "A Winning Pair" (review), Motion Picture News (October 4, 1925): 1939. via Internet Archive.
  16. https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew00moti_9/page/n519/mode/2up?q=%22Wanda+Wiley%22 "New Wanda Wiley Comedy is Released"
  17. https://archive.org/details/universalweekly100movi_3/page/n198/mode/1up?q=%22Wanda+Wiley%22 "'Nobody's Sweetheart' Featuring Wanda Wiley Reaches the Screen"
  18. December 12, 1925 . Movie Monthly Editor Interviews Wanda Wiley . Universal Weekly . 22 . 18 . 23 . Internet Archive.
  19. News: 1925-06-21 . Wanda Wiley Secures Publicity in Papers . 2024-09-23 . Tampa Bay Times . 23 . Newspapers.com.
  20. News: 1959-03-26 . Dr. D. T. Atkinson, Eye Specialist, Dies . 2024-09-23 . Shiner Gazette . 6 . Newspapers.com.

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