Viva Tattersall

Viva Tattersall (1898–1989) was the stage name of British-born actress, playwright, and sculptor Vera Tattersall, who built a career across stage and film after settling in the United States. Born in London, she was one of five daughters of Hugh Tattersall, a sea captain, and his wife Lilian. Her father's career ended after he was held responsible for the loss of a ship, leaving the family without his income. Lilian supported the household through dressmaking and by trading in stocks and shares. Among Tattersall's sisters were Lady Emma Henderson and Marjorie Clark, wife of economist Colin Clark.

Tattersall began her professional life as a stage actress and went on to work as a playwright as well. Her Broadway appearances came in 1927, when she took part in the original New York production of John Galsworthy's Escape and also appeared in the play Ritzy. As a playwright, she co-authored several works with actor Sidney Toler, including Her Western Romeo, Dress Parade, and Ritzy.

Her screen career spanned the years 1932 to 1936, during which she appeared in at least eight Hollywood films. Among the more prominent of these was the serial The Whispering Shadow (1933), in which she played Vera Strang, the daughter of a character portrayed by Bela Lugosi. Her other film credits from this period include Cynara (1932), Looking Forward (1933), Picture Brides (1934), Without Regret (1935), The Call of the Savage (1935), The Widow from Monte Carlo (1935), and The Unguarded Hour (1936).

In her personal life, Tattersall first married screenwriter B. Harrison Orkow, also known as Ben Orkow, in Manhattan in 1921. The marriage ended in divorce in New York in the late 1920s. She subsequently married Sidney Toler in 1943, four weeks after the death of his previous wife, actress Vivian Marston. At the time of that marriage, Tattersall was noted to be working as a sculptor. The couple remained married until Toler's death in September 1947. By 1972, she was living in Redlands, California, under the name Viva Toler. Tattersall died on January 19, 1989, in Loma Linda, California, at the age of 90.