Vicki Vola

Vicki Vola in a 1937 radio publicity photo.

Victoria Vola (August 27, 1916 — July 21, 1985) was an actress who used Vicki Vola as her professional name. She was best known for her portrayal of Edith Miller on both the radio and television runs of Mr. District Attorney.

Vola was born in Denver, Colorado. Living with an Italian mother and a French father who spoke five languages, she grew up in Denver and was herself fluent in five languages at age 14.[1] She attended a Denver ballet school and studied the violin as a pupil of Hungarian violinist Leopold Auer. She paid for acting lessons by working summer vacations as a grocery store cashier. After appearing in a high school play, she joined a stock company touring in the Denver area. She began in radio after seeking out an audition with a Denver station in 1932.[2]

Life in Hollywood

Arriving in Hollywood during the mid-1930s, she was heard on a variety of shows, including The First Nighter Program, Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall, Radio Theater, Calling All Cars, Strange as It Seems and the Joe Penner Show. She played opposite Boris Karloff in NBC radio adaptations of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Death Takes a Holiday. During those same years, she appeared on stage in several productions, including Romeo and Juliet. Saturday Murder and White Collars.[2]

NBC in San Francisco

Relocating to San Francisco in 1936, she was heard from NBC's San Francisco studios on such shows as Hal Burdick's Dr. Kate, Winning the West, Junior News and Tales of California.[2] From 1939-40 she had the title role in the daytime drama Brenda Curtis[3] while also appearing in another soap opera, Manhattan Mother. During the 1940s, she was heard in The Adventures of Christopher Wells and as Shanghai Lil on Jungle Jim, plus roles on The Cisco Kid, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and The Fat Man.

Films and television

In 1945, she was a narrator for Universal Newsreel. On television, she appeared in Search for Tomorrow, Mr. District Attorney, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Omnibus (U.S. TV series),[4] Escape (1950) and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1970).

References

  1. ↑ "Speech Specialists". The Morning News. April 23, 1945. p. 3. Retrieved August 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Burroughs, Jack. "You Can't Miss Her", Oakland Tribune, June 13, 1937.
  3. ↑ Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P.118.
  4. ↑ "Vicki Vola To Appear Here". Anderson Herald. April 28, 1968. p. 15. Retrieved August 24, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
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