Margaret Shelby
Encyclopedia
Margaret Shelby was an American stage and motion picture actress, daughter of actress Charlotte Shelby
, older sister of silent film
star Mary Miles Minter
and one of many public figures noted in the scandals which followed the murder of William Desmond Taylor
in 1922.
appearance was in Grace Livingston Furniss's play, The Fibber. In 1916 Shelby and her sister, Mary Miles Minter
, both in their teens, acted together on film in director James Kirkwood
's picture Faith.
Although she was seen as pretty and noted for having some talent as an actress her film career was mostly limited to supporting roles in some of her sister's films. By 1916 both sisters were quite famous. That same year, the sisters established a widely publicized "hotel" for stray dogs on the ample grounds of their Santa Barbara, California
home.
, but they divorced in 1927. With the coming of talkies in the late 1920s her career ended. By the late 1930s Shelby was suffering from both alcoholism and clinical depression. In March 1937 she eloped to Yuma, Arizona
with Emmett J. Flynn but this marriage was annulled a month later (April 27, 1937) and Flynn died the following June.
On June 5, 1937 Shelby filed a lawsuit against her mother alleging financial mismanagement, claiming Shelby had stolen $48,750 (roughly almost $2 million in 2007 inflation-adjusted terms) from a safety deposit box in a Los Angeles, California
bank. A jury awarded her $20,000. On September 13, 1938, she publicly accused her mother of having killed William Desmond Taylor
in 1922. (Taylor had had a romance with her sister Mary, beginning in 1919.)
Margaret Shelby died of alcohol related illness in 1939, aged 39.
Charlotte Shelby
Charlotte Shelby was a popular Broadway actress in her youth and was long noted as a suspect in the murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor.-Stage mother to scandal:...
, older sister of silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
star Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter was an American film actress of the silent film era.-Early life and rise to stardom:Born Juliet Reilly in Shreveport, Louisiana, Minter was the daughter of Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby...
and one of many public figures noted in the scandals which followed the murder of William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s...
in 1922.
Film career
Born as Margaret Reilly (and later also known as Alma M. Fillmore), Shelby was a successful child actress who began working professionally at a very early age. Her first BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
appearance was in Grace Livingston Furniss's play, The Fibber. In 1916 Shelby and her sister, Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter was an American film actress of the silent film era.-Early life and rise to stardom:Born Juliet Reilly in Shreveport, Louisiana, Minter was the daughter of Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby...
, both in their teens, acted together on film in director James Kirkwood
James Kirkwood, Sr.
James Kirkwood, Sr. was an American actor and director....
's picture Faith.
Although she was seen as pretty and noted for having some talent as an actress her film career was mostly limited to supporting roles in some of her sister's films. By 1916 both sisters were quite famous. That same year, the sisters established a widely publicized "hotel" for stray dogs on the ample grounds of their Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
home.
Marriages, family disputes and death
Her sister left the film industry in 1924 and Shelby took small bit parts in sundry productions. She was briefly married to Hugh Fillmore, a grandson of President Millard FillmoreMillard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
, but they divorced in 1927. With the coming of talkies in the late 1920s her career ended. By the late 1930s Shelby was suffering from both alcoholism and clinical depression. In March 1937 she eloped to Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
with Emmett J. Flynn but this marriage was annulled a month later (April 27, 1937) and Flynn died the following June.
On June 5, 1937 Shelby filed a lawsuit against her mother alleging financial mismanagement, claiming Shelby had stolen $48,750 (roughly almost $2 million in 2007 inflation-adjusted terms) from a safety deposit box in a Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
bank. A jury awarded her $20,000. On September 13, 1938, she publicly accused her mother of having killed William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s...
in 1922. (Taylor had had a romance with her sister Mary, beginning in 1919.)
Margaret Shelby died of alcohol related illness in 1939, aged 39.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Billie | Billie | |
| 1916 | Faith Faith (film) Faith is a 1916 silent film directed by James Kirkwood.-Plot:Faith is an orphan who befriends Mark Strong, an alcoholic lawyer. While Mark is trying to get sober again, Faith is falsely accused for theft and is arrested... |
Laura | aka The Virtuous Outcast |
| 1917 | Peggy Leads the Way Peggy Leads the Way Peggy Leads the Way is a 1917 silent film directed by Lloyd Ingraham. A copy of the film was first found at the Dutch Filmmuseum. They sold it to the American Film Institute in 1991.-Plot:Peggy Manners has just finished finishing school and returns home... |
Maude Greenwood | |
| Her Country's Call | Marie Tremaine | ||
| Environment Environment (film) Environment is a 1917 silent film directed by James Kirkwood.-Plot:Liz Simpkins is the daughter of town drunk John. While keeping the household, she falls in love with minister Henry Pennfield. Meanwhile, Mildred Holcombe, the daughter of the wealthy David, falls in love with artist Arnold Brice.... |
Mildred Holcombe | ||
| 1918 | Wives and Other Wives Wives and Other Wives Wives and Other Wives is a 1918 American silent comedy drama directed by Lloyd Ingraham based on a story by Jules Furthman. Starring Mary Miles Minter and Colin Chase in the lead roles.-Cast:*Mary Miles Minter .... Robin Challoner... |
Mrs. Craig | |
| Rosemary Climbs the Heights | Wanda Held | ||
| 1919 | A Bachelor's Wife | Genevieve Harbison | |
| The Intrusion of Isabel | Lois Randall | ||
| The Amazing Impostor | Countess of Crex | ||
| 1920 | Jenny Be Good | Jolanda Van Mater | |
| 1928 | Clothes Make the Woman |