Zalla Zarana

Zalla Zarana, born Rozalija Sršen (July 16, 1897 – July 12, 1967), was an American actress in the silent era. She is considered to be the first Slovenian actress to have succeeded in Hollywood.

Zalla Zarana
Zarana in 1920-21
Born
Rozalija Sršen

(1897-07-16)July 16, 1897
Žužemberk, Austria-Hungary
DiedJuly 12, 1967(1967-07-12) (aged 69)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Other namesZala Zorana, Zalla Zeranno
OccupationActress
Years active1917–1928
SpouseTheodore G. Lohman (1930–1944; his death)

Biography

Zarana was born on July 16, 1897[Note 1] in Žužemberk, in the region of Lower Carniola in Austria-Hungary. She left for the United States at age seventeen and moved in with her aunt in San Francisco. She went to night classes to learn English, typing and accounting. She accompanied her German-born friend Isabelle Grenner to Los Angeles in 1917 and sought to become an actress. She went from studio to studio and eventually succeeded with a bit part as a Spanish dancer in The Flame of the Yukon. She worked as an extra in westerns with William S. Hart and earned high-profile roles in 1922 as the femme fatale in two low-budget shoot-em-ups, Back Fire, with Jack Hoxie, and Silver Spurs, starring Lester Cuneo. For the latter film, she was promoted in ads as Hollywood's "First Jugo-Slav Beauty." She preferred exotic characters, dancers and vamps and played in at least 20 films. Her career was modest, but she shared scenes with future stars, like Stan Laurel and Gary Cooper, and was cast in small roles in major productions, such as Mae Murray's flashy friend in The Merry Widow, directed by Erich von Stroheim, and a freak show half-lady opposite John Gilbert in The Show, directed by Tod Browning. With the advent of sound films, she retired from the screen and married in 1930. She occasionally performed on stage and wrote plays.[4]

Partial filmography

Notes
  1. Zarana's 1914 immigration record also states that she was born in 1897.[1] However, her birth year was later "adjusted" to 1901 in her 1930 engagement record,[2] and to 1905 on her grave marker and death certificate.[3]

References
  1. "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JJ79-DY6 : 16 August 2019), Rosalie Sersen, 1914.
  2. "Vital Records". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 22, 1930. p. 23. Retrieved January 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP4Y-6NY : 26 November 2014), Zalla Z Lohman, 12 Jul 1967; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
  4. Nose, Rok (July 24, 2017). "Iz Žužemberka odšla med zvezde Hollywooda". Dolenjski list. p. 17. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
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