Eva Novak
Acting • Born 1898-02-14 – Died 1988-04-17
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.
Filmography
69 credits
Apology for Murder
Movie • 1945
Maid
Making a Man
Movie • 1922
Patricia Owens
Wolves of the North
Movie • 1921
Aurora Norris
The Torrent
Movie • 1921
Velma Patton
The Speed Maniac
Movie • 1919
Pearl Matthews
The Feud
Movie • 1919
Betty Summers / Betty Brown
The Daredevil
Movie • 1920
Alice Spencer
Desert Love
Movie • 1920
Dolly Remington
Up and Going
Movie • 1922
Jackie McNabb
Chasing the Moon
Movie • 1922
Jane Norworth
Phantom of the Desert
Movie • 1930
Mary Van Horn
The Beautiful Sinner
Movie • 1924
Alice Carter
Wanted at Headquarters
Movie • 1920
The Last Trail
Movie • 1921
Winifred Samson
Blackmail
Movie • 1947
Mamie, the Maid
30 Below Zero
Movie • 1926
Ann Ralston
Duel at Apache Wells
Movie • 1957
Mrs. Munn (uncredited)
Tall Man Riding
Movie • 1955
Mrs. Henderson (uncredited)
Hellfire
Movie • 1949
Sky High
Movie • 1922
Estelle Halloway - his ward
Racing for Life
Movie • 1924
Grace Danton
For the Term of His Natural Life
Movie • 1927
Sylvia Vickers
Say It with Babies
Movie • 1926
Boston Blackie
Movie • 1923
Mary Carter
The Man from Hell's River
Movie • 1922
Mabella
The Medicine Man
Movie • 1930
Hilda
Sergeant Rutledge
Movie • 1960
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
The Fatal Witness
Movie • 1945
Elsie - Vera's Maid (uncredited)
The King of the Kitchen
Movie • 1918
Her niece
That Brennan Girl
Movie • 1946
Miss Novak - Elderly Woman (uncredited)
The Dixie Flyer
Movie • 1926
Rose Rapley / Rose Jones
The Bells of St. Mary's
Movie • 1945
Nun (uncredited)
Four Faces West
Movie • 1948
Mrs. Winston
Irene
Movie • 1926
Eleanor Hadley
A Blind Pig
Movie • 1918
The Sheriff's Daughter
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Movie • 1962
Townswoman (uncredited)
The Northern Code
Movie • 1925
Marie La Fane
Trailin'
Movie • 1921
Sally Fortune
Sunset Boulevard
Movie • 1950
Courtier (uncredited)
I, Jane Doe
Movie • 1948
Jury Woman
Robin Hood Of Texas
Movie • 1947
Guest
All Jazzed Up
Movie • 1919
Dainty Dotty
The Blonde Bandit
Movie • 1949
Jail Matron
3 Godfathers
Movie • 1948
Townswoman (uncredited)
The Testing Block
Movie • 1920
Nelly Gray
Temptation
Movie • 1923
Marjorie Baldwin
Wild Seed
Movie • 1965
Mrs. Simms
No Man's Gold
Movie • 1926
Jane Rogers
The Man Life Passed By
Movie • 1923
Joy Moore
The Belles of Liberty
Movie • 1918
Trixie
The Battling Fool
Movie • 1924
Helen Chadwick
The Triflers
Movie • 1924
Beatrice Noyes
Up in Mary's Attic
Movie • 1920
Mary
O'Malley of the Mounted
Movie • 1921
Rose Lanier
Society Secrets
Movie • 1921
Louise
The Tiger's Claw
Movie • 1923
Harriet Halehurst
The Rough Diamond
Movie • 1921
Gloria Gómez
Red Signals
Movie • 1927
Mark Bryson
Laughing at Danger
Movie • 1924
Carolyn Hollister
The Smart Sex
Movie • 1921
Rose
Sally
Movie • 1925
Rosie Lafferty
The Great Night
Movie • 1922
Mollie Martin
Silk Husbands and Calico Wives
Movie • 1920
Georgia Wilson
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Movie • 1922
Vonia
The Romance of Runnibede
Movie • 1928
Dorothy Winchester
Women First
Movie • 1924
Jennie Doon
The Fatal Mistake
Movie • 1924
Ethel Bennett
Listen Lester
Movie • 1924
Mary Dodge
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV • 1962
Mrs. Hayes