Above: Screen grab of a very young Mavis Villiers in The Bum’s Rush (1927), a Snub Pollard comedy released by the Weiss Brothers. Via Cult Cinema Classics Channel (follow this link to watch the film).

The 5 second version
Australian born Mavis Villiers became an actor of increasing stature on the British stage and screen after World War 2. She was often described as ‘American-born’ in later years – as she had moved there in 1921 and spent 12 years in Hollywood before moving on to Britain in 1933. Her legacy today remains in much admired and easily accessible films such as Suddenly Last Summer (1959), Victim (1961), The Boys (1962) and No Sex Please – We’re British (1973). She also performed on stage, radio, and played numerous guest roles on TV in the 50s and 60s. Film historian Brian McFarlane has described her speciality as “enjoyably blousy blondes” – the cockney in the bar, American women (often tourists in Britain), or otherwise “showy types”. She continued to be very active until her early death in 1976. 
Her brother Cecil Cooney (1906-1993) had a very long career as a camera operator and  cinematographer in the US and Britain.
Left: Mavis in a TV version of the play Frankie and Johnny in 1950. She was injured when her dress caught fire during this production. The Sketch, 2 August 1950. P30. Copyright held by the Illustrated London News Group. Via the British Library’s Newspaper Archive.

The Cooney family in Australia

In April 1921, John and Clara Cooney packed up and left Australia for Los Angeles, taking their two young children Cecil (Aged 14) and Mavis (aged 11) with them. While most Australians embarking on an acting career overseas tended to leave with the idea of returning home as a distinct possibility, and only occasionally did an entire family emigrate, the Cooney’s move was apparently intended as a permanent one from the very start. There was no “testing the waters” first as Mary Maguire‘s family did in the 1930s. The Cooney family’s migration seems to have been inspired by Mavis’s success as a budding actress and a belief that the very young girl could go places.

Mavis had been born in Sydney in 1909, (see Note 1 regarding her birth) but by 1915 the family were settled in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba. During his life John Cooney turned his hand to many things, but at the time of Mavis’ birth was listed in directories as a “Milk vendor”, or dairy owner, while Clara managed a Katoomba retail outlet, akin to an modern Australian “Milk Bar”, as shown at left below:

<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><figcaption>Above left: The Cooney’s business was opposite Katoomba’s Empire Theatre. (Click here to read the original) Blue Mountain Echo (NSW), 24 December 1915, P6. Above centre: Mavis as up an and coming child star as few years later, Blue Mountain Echo,10 Oct 1919, P3. Above right: Making Movies (a Tivoli show) advertised in the Sydney Sun, 7 Sept 1919. P22. Via the National Library of Australia’s Trove.</figcaption></figure>

While the Cooneys established their Katoomba businesses, they also encouraged their daughter as a performer. Eight year old Mavis can be found in contemporary Australian newspapers performing under the tutelage of local drama teacher Richard Allen and later with well known Sydney elocutionist Lawrence Campbell. In 1921 she was reputedly a finalist in a “Brains and Beauty” competition arranged by a Sydney magazine. However we can also trace another important event in Mavis’ development as an actor. In 1919, Claude Flemming, an Australian actor and director (£500 Reward and The Lure of the Bush in 1918) ran a “Making Movies” matinee show for a week at Sydney’s Tivoli theatre. The stage was made up as a studio, and “aspirants took… different parts in The Officer’s Mess.” Flemming also introduced Little Mavis Cooney, commenting to the audience on her “perfect picture face for expressions in film work” and as part of the program she recited for the crowd. In addition to all of Mavis’ successes in eisteddfods and competitions, this experience probably had a significant impact on the Cooney seniors – conjuring up visions of fame and fortune for their daughter in the exciting new world of movies.

If The Officer’s Mess was ever filmed, assembled and shown to its participants, it does not survive today. However, film historian Graham Shirley has noted that similar movies were made by itinerant filmmakers, like The Adventures of Dot in the later 1920s. These movies used local talent, were usually filmed on the stage of a hastily converted cinema and were an occasional feature in Australian town life until the arrival of sound. They were popular enough that at least four versions of Dot survive in Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive.

Whether or not this experience was as decisive as this writer has suggested, the Cooney family departed for the USA in April 1921 on the SS Niagara and the ship’s manifest gives every indication it was intended as a one-way trip. There was no “in transit” listed, no US contacts or planned address yet, in their stated final destination, Los Angeles. Years later, Mavis told a journalist that she could still remember distinctly her last view of Australia – Sydney harbour – on the voyage to North America (Daily News 24/7/66:35 7).

Finding her place in California

<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><figcaption>Above: Mavis Cooney, as she appeared in The Standard Casting Directories of 1925. Soon after, she changed her stage name to Mavis Villiers. Via Lantern the Media History Digital Library</figcaption></figure>

In Los Angeles, Mavis (and possibly Cecil too) joined Frank Egan‘s dramatic school for several years. Mavis also had a major breakthrough, when Mary Pickford apparently helped her gain small parts in her films Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921) and Tess of the Storm Country (1922). However, while the public domain copies of these films are easily accessible today, it is very difficult to identify young Mavis amongst the children in either film, particularly since Pickford seems to have encouraged a number of youngsters by giving them small parts.

Between 1926 and 1933, newspapers often noted Mavis performing at the Pasadena Community Playhouse or the Beverley Hills Community Playhouse, energetic and exciting places for young actors to gain valuable experience.

<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><figcaption>Above: Left – Mavis with her trademark dimples in a 1926 competition. Los Angeles Evening Express, 13 Apr 1926, P18. Right – Mavis on stage in Hay Fever, at the Pasadena Community Playhouse in 1926. Pasedena Post, 28 Apr 1926, P2, via Newspap