Wilna Hervey

Wilna Hervey (October 3, 1894 – March 6, 1979), also known as Wilna Wilde, was an American film actress. She starred in a series of silent slapstick films in the 1920s before becoming part of the artist community in Woodstock, New York with her partner Nan Mason.

Early life Known to friends and family as "Willie," Wilna Hervey was the only child of the marriage of William Russell Hervey and Anna Van Horn Traphagen. Much of the slapstick comedy in the series revolves around Hervey's imposing physical stature—she stood —in contrast with her diminutive male co-stars. Nan and Hervey became life partners, remaining together until Hervey's death in 1979.

When the Toonerville Trolley films ceased production in 1921, Hervey and Dan Mason reprised a version of their characters for the Plum Center Comedies, an unofficial knockoff comedy series produced by the Paul Gerson Pictures Corporation in California.

Around 1919-1920, Hervey's father bought her a studio in Bearsville, New York. She and Nan Mason split their time between painting and farming in Woodstock, New York, and pursuing acting opportunities in California, from 1922 to 1929. They became popular members of the Woodstock artists community, and both found some artistic success there during the 1960s. During the harsh New York winters they also spent time in Carmel, California, and Manatee County, Florida. Hervey's personal papers, which include an unpublished manuscript of her memoirs, are held at the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.