Mona Barrie

Mona Barrie (18 December 1909 – 27 June 1964) was an English-born actress, active on stage in Australia before establishing a career in the US, and in Hollywood films.

Born Mona Barlee Smith in London to comedian Phil Smith and variety performer Jessie Barlee, she lived in Australia from 1913, and made her professional debut as Mona Barlee on stage in a 1922 J. C. Williamson production of The Merry Widow. For the next ten years she performed for J. C. Williamson's, mostly in musical comedies and earning a popular reputation, appearing with numerous Australian based variety stars including Roy Rene. She also appeared in her first film, His Royal Highness, with Australian comedian George Wallace. In 1933 she emigrated to New York, was given a test for films and this led to signing with Fox Film Corporation. She made her first US film Sleepers East using the stage name Mona Barrie. While her lack of a glamorous beauty resulted in her generally being cast in important but secondary roles, during a film career spanning almost twenty years she appeared in more than fifty films. For her contribution to the industry, Mona Barrie has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6140 Hollywood Blvd.

Barrie co-starred in 1942's Dawn on the Great Divide, the last film Buck Jones made before he died in the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mona Barrie also performed at various playhouses across the U.S, debuting on Broadway in 1937.

She married Charles Harold Rayson in Melbourne, Australia, in July 1928, however the marriage was not a success and a divorce was granted in 1931.

In 1938 she married Canadian Paul Macklin Bolton. Mona Barrie died in 1964 in Los Angeles, California. She and her husband are buried together in the Knox United Church Cemetery in Agincourt, Toronto.

Her sister Rene Barlee was also a well known variety artist in Australia in the 1920s, while her brother Roly Barlee was chief announcer for Melbourne radio station 3UZ.