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

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

Sunset Boulevard

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

3 Godfathers

Sergeant Rutledge

That Brennan Girl

Tall Man Riding

The Bells of St. Mary's
All Movies (71)
- Wild Seed1965 · as Mrs. Simms
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance1962 · as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Sergeant Rutledge1960 · as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- Duel at Apache Wells1957 · as Mrs. Munn (uncredited)
- Tall Man Riding1955 · as Mrs. Henderson (uncredited)
- Sunset Boulevard1950 · as Courtier (uncredited)
- The Blonde Bandit1949 · as Jail Matron
- Hellfire1949 · as Indian Woman (uncredited)
- 3 Godfathers1948 · as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Four Faces West1948 · as Mrs. Winston
- I, Jane Doe1948 · as Jury Woman
- Blackmail1947 · as Mamie, the Maid
- Robin Hood Of Texas1947 · as Guest
- That Brennan Girl1946 · as Miss Novak - Elderly Woman (uncredited)
- The Bells of St. Mary's1945 · as Nun (uncredited)
- Apology for Murder1945 · as Maid
- The Fatal Witness1945 · as Elsie - Vera's Maid (uncredited)
- Phantom of the Desert1930 · as Mary Van Horn
- The Medicine Man1930 · as Hilda
- The Romance of Runnibede1928 · as Dorothy Winchester
- For the Term of His Natural Life1927 · as Sylvia Vickers
- Red Signals1927 · as Mark Bryson
- 30 Below Zero1926 · as Ann Ralston
- No Man's Gold1926 · as Jane Rogers
- The Dixie Flyer1926 · as Rose Rapley / Rose Jones
- Say It with Babies1926
- Irene1926 · as Eleanor Hadley
- The Northern Code1925 · as Marie La Fane
- Sally1925 · as Rosie Lafferty
- The Triflers1924 · as Beatrice Noyes
- Laughing at Danger1924 · as Carolyn Hollister
- Women First1924 · as Jennie Doon
- The Beautiful Sinner1924 · as Alice Carter
- The Fatal Mistake1924 · as Ethel Bennett
- Racing for Life1924 · as Grace Danton
- The Battling Fool1924 · as Helen Chadwick
- Listen Lester1924 · as Mary Dodge
- The Man Life Passed By1923 · as Joy Moore
- Boston Blackie1923 · as Mary Carter
- The Tiger's Claw1923 · as Harriet Halehurst
- Temptation1923 · as Marjorie Baldwin
- Dollar Devils1923 · as Amy Andrews
- Making a Man1922 · as Patricia Owens
- The Great Night1922 · as Mollie Martin
- The Man Who Saw Tomorrow1922 · as Vonia
- The Man from Hell's River1922 · as Mabella
- Up and Going1922 · as Jackie McNabb
- Chasing the Moon1922 · as Jane Norworth
- Sky High1922 · as Estelle Halloway - his ward
- Trailin'1921 · as Sally Fortune
- The Last Trail1921 · as Winifred Samson
- The Rough Diamond1921 · as Gloria Gómez
- Wolves of the North1921 · as Aurora Norris
- The Smart Sex1921 · as Rose
- Society Secrets1921 · as Louise
- O'Malley of the Mounted1921 · as Rose Lanier
- The Torrent1921 · as Velma Patton
- The Testing Block1920 · as Nelly Gray
- Wanted at Headquarters1920
- Up in Mary's Attic1920 · as Mary
- Desert Love1920 · as Dolly Remington
- The Daredevil1920 · as Alice Spencer
- Silk Husbands and Calico Wives1920 · as Georgia Wilson
- The Feud1919 · as Betty Summers / Betty Brown
- The Speed Maniac1919 · as Pearl Matthews
- All Jazzed Up1919 · as Dainty Dotty
- The King of the Kitchen1918 · as Her niece
- The Belles of Liberty1918 · as Trixie
- A Blind Pig1918 · as The Sheriff's Daughter
- The Sign of the Cucumber1917
- Hearts and Flour1917
All TV Shows (1)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour1962 · as Mrs. Hayes