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Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter. Portrait by Cinematographer James Wong Howe, 1923.jpg
Minter in 1923
Born
Juliet Reilly

(1902-04-25)April 25, 1902
Died August 4, 1984(1984-08-04) (aged 82)
Other names Juliet Shelby
Occupation Actress
Years active 1907–1923
Spouse(s)
Brandon O. Hildebrandt
(m. 1957; his death 1965)
Parent(s)
  • Charlotte Shelby (mother)
Relatives Margaret Shelby (sister)

Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly; April 25, 1902– August 4, 1984) was an American actress. She appeared in 53 silent films from 1912 to 1923.

In 1922, Minter was involved in a scandal surrounding the murder of director William Desmond Taylor, for whom she professed her love. Although gossip implicated her mother, former actress Charlotte Shelby, as the murderer, Minter's reputation was tarnished, and she gave up her film career in 1923.

Early life

Minter was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the younger of two daughters born to J. Homer Reilly (1877–1958) and Lily Pearl Miles (later known as Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby; 1877–1957). Her sister was Margaret Reilly, who later became an actress using the name Margaret Shelby.

Career

Stage and film career

Mary Miles Minter by Albert Witzel
Minter, c. 1918

At the age of five, she accompanied her sister Margaret on an audition because no babysitter was available. She was noticed by the director and given her first part. She began her stage career and frequently was employed afterward, widely noted for both her talent and visual appeal. To avoid child labor laws while the 10-year-old was appearing in a play in Chicago in 1912, Charlotte Shelby obtained the birth certification of her older sister's deceased daughter from Louisiana, and Juliet became Mary Miles Minter.

In her screen debut, in which she was billed as Juliet Shelby, she appeared in the 1-reel short film The Nurse (1912). Her new stage name was applied, and Minter starred in the role as Viola Drayton, the fairy, in the 5-reel drama The Fairy and the Waif (1915).

Minter's career steadily grew after that. She specialized in playing demure young women. With her photogenic features, blue eyes, and blonde curls, she emulated and later rivaled Mary Pickford.

Her first movie for director William Desmond Taylor was Anne of Green Gables (1919). It was well-received, and Taylor actively promoted Minter. According to Minter, a romantic relationship developed between them. However, Minter (who had grown up fatherless) said Taylor had reservations from the outset and later curtailed the romance, citing their 30-year age difference. Other people who knew Taylor and Minter said he never reciprocated her feelings.

Later career and retirement

Minter made four more motion pictures for Paramount, with her last being The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1923). When the studio did not renew her contract, she received many other offers but declined them all, saying she had never been happy as an actress.

Personal life

Mary Miles Minter by Witzel
Miles Minter by Witzel, circa 1917

Minter was involved with James Kirkwood Sr. for a time in 1916 when she was 15 years old. Minter and Kirkwood "married" without benefit of clergy in the countryside near Santa Barbara. .....

In late 1922, several months after Taylor's death, Minter became involved romantically for a time with then-news correspondent of Los Angeles and movie critic Louis Sherwin, who had at one time been married to actress Maude Fealy.

In 1925, Minter sued her mother for an accounting of the money Shelby had received for her during her screen career. The case was settled out of court, with the settlement being signed by Minter and Shelby at the American consulate in Paris, France, on January 24, 1927.

In 1934, a hearing took place in Los Angeles, in which Hilda Desey, the proprietor of a dress shop on Wilshire Blvd., claimed that Minter entered her shop and took a tweed dress valued at $55.00 by force. Minter countered in court by stating that she had helped finance Miss Desey's dress shop and that she took the dress as she was owed interest. The deputy district attorney declined to issue a complaint for either petty theft or malicious mischief, as it was decided that there was no evidence of malicious intent on the part of Minter.

In 1957, Minter and real estate developer Brandon O. Hildebrandt (1898–1965) were married. They remained married until Hildebrandt's death in 1965.

Later years

Minter commented she was content to live without her Hollywood career. She later reconciled with her mother and proclaimed her love for Taylor throughout her life. Minter's money had been invested in Los Angeles real estate, and she seems to have lived in relative comfort and prosperity. She later moved to a house in Santa Monica, California; her mother Charlotte Shelby died there in 1957.

In 1981, Minter was severely beaten in a burglary at her home in which more than $300,000 worth of antiques, china and jewelry were taken. A former live-in companion and three other people were charged with attempted murder and burglary. The police described her as a frail old woman, and people often were shocked to learn she had been a famous movie star.

Minter died in 1984 at age 82 from a stroke in Santa Monica. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at sea. For her contribution to movies, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1724 Vine Street in Hollywood.

Legacy

Much of Minter's work has been lost; of her 53 films, approximately a dozen are known to exist today. A print of her 1919 movie The Ghost of Rosy Taylor surfaced in New Zealand in the 1990s. Other known surviving movies include The Fairy and the Waif (1915), Youth's Endearing Charm (1916), A Dream or Two Ago (1916), The Innocence of Lizette (1916), The Eyes of Julia Deep (1918), Nurse Marjorie (1920), A Cumberland Romance (1920) and The Little Clown (1921).

Filmography

The Amazing Impostor
The Amazing Impostor (1919)
Year Title Role Notes
1912 The Nurse The Child Credited as Juliet Shelby
1915 The Fairy and the Waif Viola Drayton, the Fairy
1915 Always in the Way Dorothy North Lost film
1915 Emmy of Stork's Nest Emmy Garrett Lost film
1915 Barbara Frietchie (1915 film) Barbara, Mrs. Frietchie's granddaughter Lost film
1916 Rose of the Alley Nell Drogan
1916 Dimples Dimples
1916 Lovely Mary Mary Lane Lost film
1916 Youth's Endearing Charm Mary Wade
1916 Dulcie's Adventure Dulcie Lost film
1916 Faith Faith
1916 A Dream or Two Ago Millicent Hawthorne
1916 The Innocence of Lizette Lizette
1917 The Gentle Intruder Sylvia Partially lost
1917 Environment Liz Simpkins Lost film
1917 Annie-for-Spite Annie Johnson Lost film
1917 Periwinkle Periwinkle Lost film
1917 Melissa of the Hills Melissa Stark Lost film
1917 Somewhere in America Rose Dorgan
1917 Charity Castle Charity Lost film
1917 Her Country's Call Jess Slocum Lost film
1917 Peggy Leads the Way Peggy Manners
1917 The Mate of the Sally Ann Sally Lost film
1918 Beauty and the Rogue Roberta Lee Lost film
1918 Powers That Prey Sylvia Grant Lost film
1918 A Bit of Jade Phyllis King Lost film
1918 Social Briars Iris Lee Lost film
1918 The Ghost of Rosy Taylor Rhoda Eldridge Sayles
1918 The Eyes of Julia Deep Julia Deep
1918 Rosemary Climbs the Heights Rosemary Van Voort Lost film
1918 Wives and Other Wives Robin Challoner Lost film
1919 The Amazing Impostor Joan Hope Lost film
1919 The Intrusion of Isabel Isabel Trevor Lost film
1919 A Bachelor's Wife Mary O'Rourke Lost film
1919 Yvonne from Paris Yvonne Halbert Lost film
1919 Anne of Green Gables Anne Shirley Lost film
1920 Judy of Rogue's Harbor Judy Lost film
1920 Nurse Marjorie Lady Marjorie Killonan
1920 Jenny Be Good Jenny Riano Lost film
1920 A Cumberland Romance Easter Hicks
1920 Sweet Lavender Lavender Lost film
1920 Eyes of the Heart Laura Lost film
1921 All Soul's Eve Alice Heath/Nora O'Hallahan Lost film
1921 The Little Clown Pat
1921 Don't Call Me Little Girl Jerry Lost film
1921 Moonlight and Honeysuckle Judith Baldwin Lost film
1921 Her Winning Way Ann Annington Lost film
1922 Tillie Tillie Getz Lost film
1922 The Heart Specialist Rosalie Beckwith Lost film
1922 South of Suva Phyllis Latimer Lost film
1922 The Cowboy and the Lady Jessica Westoon Lost film
1923 Drums of Fate Carol Dolliver Lost film
1923 The Trail of the Lonesome Pine June Tolliver Lost film

See also

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