Violet M. Barlow

born: 08 August 1901 New York City, New York, United States of America

died: 16 June 1963 Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States of America (age 61)

Tall, blonde American actress and dancer, known as "The Elongated Comedienne" and "The Gay Nineties Fashion Plate," who had success as an eccentric dancer and comic performer on stage and occasionally in film through the 1940s. Her parents were Harriet (née Nicholson) and Harry Barlow, both stage performers; after Harry's death in 1909, Harriet re-married to Chot Eldridge, also a performer. Violet's paternal grandfather was minstrel and vaudeville performer Milt G. Barlow, and her uncle (Harry's brother/Milt's other son) was stage and screen actor Reginald Barlow. Violet initially performed with her mother and stepfather in the vaudeville trio of Eldridge, Barlow & Eldridge; she later partnered with Billy Benter, who became her second husband. After her entertainment career, Violet changed gears and became an interior designer. She was married twice, first to Lloyd Knapp in 1923 to around 1929, then to Benter from 1932 to 1960; both marriages ended in divorce. After her 1963 passing, she was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Her surname has also been spelled "Barlowe."

Real name: Violet Muir Barlow Height: 5'7" (age 16, Mar. 1918)

Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography.

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1931 What A Bozo! "Birth of a New Nation" dancer MISCELLANEOUS (click any image to enlarge) Acknowledgements: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WWG-X8K (birth record) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKH5-WDZ (1910 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHJQ-LTN (1920 Census, Spokane, WA) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ3W-ZXY (1920 Census, Chicago, IL) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21V-4BLP (1923 marriage) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCJ1-9SB (1930 Census) Violet M Barlow and Wm Hawley Benter, "California, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941" (Ancestry.com) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7MW-14Y (1940 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XG9-18B9 (1950 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGRN-WGH (CA Death Index) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/241696769 (Find a Grave) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/810753274/ (Minneapolis Journal, 10 Mar 1918) https://archive.org/details/insidefacts12-1930-07-05/page/n10/mode/1up?q=%22violet+m+barlow%22 (Inside Facts of Stage and Screen, 05 Jul 1930) https://archive.org/details/general-dir-nov-1930/page/203/mode/1up?q=%22violet+m+barlow%22 (General Directory, Nov 1930) https://archive.org/details/general-dir-dec-1930/page/215/mode/1up?q=%22violet+m+barlow%22 (General Directory, Dec 1930) https://archive.org/details/general-dir-oct-1931/page/161/mode/1up?q=%22violet+m+barlow%22 (General Directory, Oct 1931) [source of credit for "What a Bozo!"] https://archive.org/details/hollywoodfilmogr13holl/page/35/mode/1up?q=%22vi+barlow%22 (Hollywood Filmograph, 23 Dec 1933) https://digitalcollections.oscars.org/digital/collection/p15759coll35/id/16474/rec/15 (Academy Players Directory, Jun 1946) https://digitalcollections.oscars.org/digital/collection/p15759coll35/id/17149/rec/16 (Academy Players Directory, Oct 1946) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?date=1932-12&keyword=%22violet+m+barlow%22®ion=us-ca&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/379982488/ (Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan 1960) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381237640/ (Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar 1960) https://archive.org/search?tab=fulltext&query=%22violet+m+barlow%22&sort=date (Internet Archive, search) https://archive.org/search?tab=fulltext&query=%22violet+barlow%22&sort=date (Internet Archive, search) https://archive.org/search?tab=fulltext&query=%22violet+barlowe%22&sort=date (Internet Archive, search) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?keyword=%22violet+m+barlow%22&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?keyword=%22violet+muir+barlow%22&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?county=Los+Angeles&keyword=%22violet+barlow%22&region=us-ca&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?county=Los+Angeles&keyword=%22violet+barlowe%22&region=us-ca&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?date-end=1963&date-start=1932&keyword=%22vi+benter%22&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?keyword=%22violet+benter%22&region=us-ca&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?city=Oshkosh&county=Winnebago&date-end=1932&date-start=1923&keyword=%22violet+knapp%22&region=us-wi&sort=paper-date-asc (Newspapers.com, search) Jesse Brisson (bio notes and research; identification in What A Bozo) This page was last updated on: 02 June 2026