Volume III: Biographies

HITE, Violet *

Actress (1912-1916)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Violet Hite was an actress with Thanhouser for several years. Her roles were not major, and she was rarely mentioned in publicity.

Biographical Notes: Born in Pleasantville, Ohio in September 1892, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel Hite, Violet Hite was educated at King's School of Oratory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She entered films with Thanhouser in 1912, and by 1916 had been there for five years, playing in New Rochelle and Los Angeles, according to a listing in the Motion Picture News Studio Directory. Her Thanhouser films included ingenue parts, plus "parts of every description," according to the same trade directory. She was among the Thanhouser players who went to the Jacksonville, Florida studio in early 1916, spending several months there. Her brother, Charles J. Hite, was president of the Thanhouser Film Corporation from March 1912 until his death in August 1914.

Wedding Bells: The following account appeared in the New Rochelle Evening Standard, May 16, 1914: "[The wedding took place] at Trinity Church at 1:30 o'clock this afternoon when Miss Violet Hite and William Ray Johnston were married by Reverend Charles F. Canedy. The bride wore white crepe trimmed with silk net and a hat with white tule trimmed with real bridal roses. Her bouquet was a shower of bridal roses. She was attended by Miss Lydia Mead, who was soon to become the bride of Perry Horton, who acted as best man. It was a quiet ceremony and no others were present. The couple started at once for Philadelphia and Atlantic City where they will spend a few days. They are to live at 19 Rhodes St. where Mr. Johnston has made his home with the Chesters. Mrs. Johnston formerly made her home with Mrs. G[race] Eline, mother of the Thanhouser Kid, 74 Main Street. For some time she has been an actress in the Thanhouser company.

"Mrs. Johnston is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel Hite, Lancaster, Ohio, where her father has a large stock farm. Her grandfather, Joseph Hite, with two brothers, were the pioneers who settled that part of Ohio and founded the old Hite settlement. Her brother is Charles J. Hite, president of the Thanhouser Film Corporation."

Other Information: She was 5'2" tall, weighed 120 pounds, and had dark brown hair and blue eyes. For recreation she enjoyed swimming, horseback riding, and tennis. In the summer of 1915 she was on the Thanhouser employees' female baseball team. In January 1916 her home address was 84 Main Street, New Rochelle, according to the Motion Picture News Studio Directory. In autumn 1916 an edition of the same directory placed her at 19 Rhodes Street (the address given in the earlier-quoted 1914 article), where she is believed to have remained for the next year or so.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1915: The Crogmere Ruby (8-15-1915)

1916: Perkins' Peace Party (Falstaff 2-17-1916), The Oval Diamond (2-24-1916), Theodore's Terrible Thirst (Falstaff 3-14-1916), Dad's Darling Daughters (4-24-1916), Her Father's Gold (5-11-1916) The Black Terror (9-29-1916)

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