Husband Rod La Rocque
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7056 Lanewood Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Rossmore Apartments, 410 N Rossmore Ave #101, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Vilma Bánky (born Vilma Koncsics;[2] 9 January 1901 – 18 March 1991) was a Hungarian-American silent film actress. Although her acting career began in Budapest, and she later worked in France, Austria, and Germany, Bánky was best known for her roles in the American films The Eagle and The Son of the Sheik with
Rudolph Valentino, and for several romantic teamings with Ronald Colman.
Rod La Rocque entered into a
marriage of convenience with Banky, who had strong lesbian tendencies, and
during their marriage both La Rocque and Banky continued to dally in same-sex
relations.
Bánky was born on 9 January 1901[2] to János Bánky Koncsics and his German wife, Katalin Ulbert, in Nagydorog, Austria-Hungary. Her father was a bureau chief in Franz Joseph's Austro-Hungarian Empire. Shortly after her birth, her father, a police sergeant, was transferred to Budapest, and the family relocated. She had two siblings – an older brother, Gyula and a younger sister, Gizella. After graduation from secondary school, Bánky (as she would later be known) took courses to work as a stenographer, but was offered a role in a film.
Her first film appearance was in the now-lost film Im Letzten Augenblick (In the last moment), directed by Carl Boese in Germany in 1919. On a trip to Budapest in 1925, Hollywood film producer Samuel Goldwyn discovered and signed her to a contract. Both her mother and father were vehemently against Bánky's acting career as was her fiancé; nonetheless, she left for the United States in March 1925, arriving to a great deal of fanfare.
She was hailed as "The Hungarian Rhapsody" and was an immediate hit with American audiences. The New York Times remarked in its review of her first American film, The Dark Angel (1925), that she "is a young person of rare beauty ... so exquisite that one is not in the least surprised that she is never forgotten by Hillary Trent"[3] (the movie's leading male character who decides to allow his family and fiancee to believe him dead rather than place what he perceives as the burden on them of a life caring for a blinded war veteran). She appeared opposite silent film star Rudolph Valentino in The Eagle (1925) and The Son of the Sheik (1926). Valentino reportedly was fascinated by Vilma, and chose her as the leading lady in the films. She also appeared opposite Ronald Colman in a series of love stories, including The Dark Angel and The Winning of Barbara Worth. It is commonly believed that her thick Hungarian accent led, with the advent of sound, to her career being cut short; however, she began losing interest in films and wanted to settle down with Rod La Rocque and simply be his wife.
Bánky and husband Rod La Rocque in 1927
She married actor Rod La Rocque in 1927; Samuel Goldwyn gave the bride away, Cecil B. De Mille was the best man, and Hollywood columnist Louella O. Parsons was matron of honor. There were so many fans in front of the church that 400 police officers were required to control them. Western star Tom Mix arrived in a coach drawn by four horses.
They remained married until his
death in 1969. The couple had no children.[4]
During the height of their silent screen fame, the pair lived in a big handsome colonial home right in the center of Hollywood at 7056 Lanewood Avenue, a home, which, like so many other beautiful old Hollywood houses, has since vanished into memory.
By 1928, she had begun announcing her intention to retire in a few years.
Of her 24 films, eight exist in their entirety (Hotel Potemkin, Der Zirkuskönig (The King of the Circus) with Max Linder, The Son of the Sheik, The Eagle, The Winning of Barbara Worth, The Night of Love, A Lady to Love, and The Rebel), and three exist in fragments (Tavaszi szerelem in scattered bits, the first five reels of The Magic Flame, and an incomplete copy of Two Lovers).
Her post-Hollywood years were spent selling real estate with her husband and playing golf, her favorite sport. In 1981, Bánky established an educational fund, the Banky–La Rocque Foundation.
As a widow, Miss Banky left her Beverly Hills house for the Rossmore Apartments in Hancock Park overlooking the Wilshire Country Club, where she frequently played golf. She was women's golfing champion at the club in 1950 and 1951.
Bánky died on 18 March 1991, from cardiopulmonary failure, aged 90, but
notice of her death was not made public until the following year. She was
reportedly upset that no one had come to visit her in her last years, and
directed her lawyer to make no mention of her death.[4][5] Her ashes were
scattered at sea where her husband's had been consigned. For her contributions
to the film industry, Bánky received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame in 1960. Her star is located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.[6]
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