Violet Horner

Violet Horner, the second daughter of music hall performers Sidney Herbert Horner (born Wales) and Pauline Tranter (born Belfast), grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she performed in amateur productions and was discovered singing in a church choir when she first got into film. In an interview (Gertrude M. Price, "Went From Church Soloist to Leading Lady," (Chicago) "Day Book", 21 January 1913, pp. 30-32), when asked about whether her life as an actress was different as her work as a church soloist, Horner stated "Yes, it was certainly a jump and something different...But I wanted more excitement and a chance to climb over the fence and look out over the world. That's why I took up pictures." After her movie career faded, she went into vaudeville as a singer until her second marriage to a Brooklyn dentist, and until their retirement to Florida, spent her time giving voice and acting lessons and putting on amateur productions with various local groups including the Ladies Auxiliary of her husband's American Legion Post.