Violet Heming

Violet Heming was primarily of the stage. Both her parents were established actors in English theatre. In America since childhood, Violet came to prominence in 1908 with Charles Frohman's company as juvenile star of "Peter Pan" (as Wendy) and in the title role of "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm". In 1912, she appeared with the veteran actor George Arliss in his signature performance of "Disraeli". At that time, she had already entered films as a leading lady with Thanhouser. After two years (1910-12), she left moving pictures for the Chicago stage and in 1914 joined the Columbia stock company in Washington, D.C.. Her subsequent motion picture career was an intermittent affair at best (a mere eight films between 1917 and 1922). It was entirely subordinated to regular performances on Broadway in a string of comedies, including "Trelawny of the Wells", "The Jest" and "This Thing Called Love". In 1926, Violet co-founded (with Mary Pickford and Helen Hayes) the Institute of the Woman's Theater to help aspiring young actresses. She made a half-hearted comeback in films, even praised by critics for her role as George Arliss's friend Mildred Miller in The Man Who Played God (1932). However, Almost Married (1932), a minor thriller co-starring Ralph Bellamy made hardly any impression at all and she returned, yet again, to the stage. In 1945, Violet married a former U.S. senator from Missouri, Judge Bennett Champ Clark, a good friend of President Harry S. Truman who was best man at the ceremony.