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Eva Novak, a captivating and shapely silent screen actress, is best remembered for her role as cowboy Tom Mix's love interest in ten of his popular western films. While she appeared in numerous dramatic and comedic roles alongside other leading actors of the era, it was her partnership with Mix that left a lasting impression.
Born Barbara Eva Novak on Valentine's Day in 1898 in St. Louis, Missouri, she was one of many beauties who turned her wholesome appearance into a successful career. The daughter of Joseph, an immigrant from Bohemia, and Barbara Novak, Eva began as a Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty and started her comedy career with the L-KO Company in shorts like Roped Into Scandal (1917) and Hearts and Flour (1917). By 1919, she moved on to feature-length films, starring alongside Tom Mix in westerns such as The Speed Maniac (1919), The Feud (1919), The Daredevil (1920), Desert Love (1920), The Rough Diamond (1921), Trailin' (1921), Sky High (1922), and Chasing the Moon (1922). She also appeared with cowboy legend William S. Hart in several rugged westerns and occasionally showcased her range in a variety of comedies and dramas.
Tom Mix taught the nimble Novak how to perform her own stunts in their western adventures, and she excelled at them until 1921, when she married William Reed (1894-1944), an assistant director and stuntman, who persuaded her to stop the dangerous stunts.
With the arrival of sound films, Eva's popularity declined. She completed her career in Australia alongside her husband and returned sporadically to film and television, usually in small, uncredited roles, until retiring in the late 1960s.
Eva passed away from pneumonia at age 90 in Woodland Hills, California. Her older sister, Jane Novak, also enjoyed a distinguished silent film career.
