Anne Shirley (actress)
| Anne Shirley | |
|---|---|
 from the trailer for the film Vigil in the Night (1940) | |
| Born |
Dawn Evelyeen Paris April 17, 1918 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
July 4, 1993 (aged 75) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Dawn O'Day |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1922–1944 |
| Spouse(s) |
John Payne (1937–1943) (divorced) 1 child Adrian Scott (1945–1948) (divorced) Charles Lederer (1949–1976) (his death) 1 child |
| Children |
Julie Payne Daniel Lederer |
Anne Shirley (April 17, 1918 – July 4, 1993) was an American film actress and former child actress.
Beginning her career as a child actress under the stage name Dawn O'Day, Shirley adopted the name of the character she played in the film adaptation of Anne of Green Gables in 1934,[1] and achieved a successful career in supporting roles. Among her films is Stella Dallas (1937), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She retired from acting in 1944, at the age of 26. She remained in Los Angeles, where she died at the age of 75.[2]
Early life
Born as Dawn Evelyeen Paris, in New York City, she began acting under the name of Dawn O'Day.[2] As a baby she began modeling, and made her film debut with a featured role in 1922's Moonshine Valley.[3] She began acting at the age of five, and had a highly successful child star career in Pre-Code movies, appearing in such films as Liliom, Tom Mix's Riders of the Purple Sage, So Big, Three on a Match and Rasputin and the Empress.
Career
In 1934 she starred as the character of Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables, and took that character's name as her stage name.
After adopting the name Anne Shirley, she starred in Steamboat 'Round the Bend, Make Way for a Lady and Stella Dallas, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Later roles were in such movies as Vigil in the Night, Anne of Windy Poplars, The Devil and Daniel Webster and Murder, My Sweet, her final film. Of her portrayal in Saturday's Children, The New York Times commented that she "endows the little wife with heroic integrity and strength of character."[4]
Personal life
Shirley married actor John Payne August 22, 1937, in Montecito, California.[5] They had a daughter, former actress Julie Payne.
Her second husband was film producer and screenwriter Adrian Scott. When he was blacklisted and decided to move the family to Europe, at the last minute she wrote him a "Dear John" letter saying she'd rather stay behind and divorce him.[6] Her third husband was Charles Lederer, nephew of Marion Davies. They had a son named Daniel Lederer. Shirley had also a brief relationship with younger western star Rory Calhoun and another with French movie star Jean-Pierre Aumont.
Shirley died from lung cancer in Los Angeles, aged 75 on July 4, 1993 and was cremated. For her contributions to the motion picture industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Blvd.
Filmography
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| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | The Hidden Woman | Girl | as Dawn O'Day |
| Moonshine Valley | Nancy | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1923 | The Rustle of Silk | Girl | as Dawn O'Day |
| The Spanish Dancer | Don Balthazar Carlos | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1924 | The Man Who Fights Alone | Dorothy | as Dawn O'Day |
| The Fast Set | Little Margaret | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1925 | Riders of the Purple Sage | Fay Larkin | uncredited |
| Alice's Egg Plant | Alice | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1927 | Night Life | Daughter of War Profiteer | as Dawn O'Day |
| The Callahans and the Murphys | Mary Callahan | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1928 | Mother Knows Best | Sally, as a child | as Dawn O'Day |
| 4 Devils | Marion, as a girl | as Dawn O'Day | |
| Sins of the Fathers | Mary, as a child | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1930 | City Girl | Marie Tustine | as Dawn O'Day |
| Liliom | Louise | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1931 | Gun Smoke | Horton's Daughter | as Dawn O'Day |
| Hello Napoleon | The Little Girl | as Dawn O'Day | |
| Howdy Mate | - | as Dawn O'Day | |
| Rich Man's Folly | Anne, as a child | as Dawn O'Day | |
| 1932 | Emma | Isabelle as a Child | uncredited |
| Young America | Girl | as Dawn O'Day | |
| So Big! | Selina Peake, as a Child | uncredited | |
| The Purchase Price | Sarah Tipton, the Daughter | uncredited | |
| Three on a Match | Vivian Revere as a Child | as Dawn O'Day | |
| Rasputin and the Empress | Princess Anastasia | uncredited | |
| 1933 | The Life of Jimmy Dolan | Mary Lou | uncredited |
| 1934 | This Side of Heaven | Flower Girl | as Dawn O'Day/Scenes deleted |
| Picture Palace | Dawn | as Dawn O'Day | |
| School for Girls | Catherine Fogarty | ||
| Finishing School | Billie | as Dawn O'Day | |
| Private Lessons | Dawn | as Dawn O'Day | |
| The Key | Flower Girl | as Dawn O'Day | |
| Bachelor Bait | Miriam Ann Johnson, Marriage License Applicant | uncredited | |
| Anne of Green Gables | Anne Shirley | ||
| 1935 | Chasing Yesterday | Jeanne Alexandre | |
| Steamboat Round the Bend | Fleety Belle | ||
| 1936 | Chatterbox | Jenny Yates | |
| M'Liss | M'liss Smith | ||
| So and Sew | - | ||
| Make Way for a Lady | June Drew | ||
| 1937 | Too Many Wives | Betty Jackson | |
| Meet the Missus | Louise Foster | ||
| Stella Dallas | Laurel "Lollie" Dallas | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| 1938 | Condemned Women | Millie Anson | |
| Law of the Underworld | Annabelle Porter | ||
| Mother Carey's Chickens | Nancy Carey | ||
| Girls' School | Natalie Freeman | ||
| A Man to Remember | Jean Johnson | ||
| 1939 | Boy Slaves | Annie | |
| Sorority House | Alice Fisher | ||
| Career | Sylvia Bartholomew | ||
| 1940 | Vigil in the Night | Lucy Lee | |
| Saturday's Children | Bobby Halevy | ||
| Anne of Windy Poplars | Anne Shirley | ||
| 1941 | West Point Widow | Nancy Hull | |
| Unexpected Uncle | Kathleen Brown | ||
| The Devil and Daniel Webster | Mary Stone | ||
| 1942 | Four Jacks and a Jill | Karanina 'Nina' Novak | |
| The Mayor of 44th Street | Jessey Lee | ||
| 1943 | Ona zashchishchayet rodinu | Pasha | English voice |
| Lady Bodyguard | A.C. Baker | ||
| The Powers Girl | Ellen Evans | ||
| Bombardier | Burton Hughes | ||
| Government Girl | May Harness Blake | ||
| 1944 | Man from Frisco | Diana Kennedy | |
| Music in Manhattan | Frankie Foster | ||
| Murder, My Sweet | Anne Grayle | ||
| Government Girl | Mary Harness Blake |
References
- ↑ "Anne Shirley At Weller". The Times Recorder. Ohio, Zanesville. July 7, 1940. p. 16. Retrieved July 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Shipman, David (October 22, 2011). "Obituary: Anne Shirley". The Independent. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- ↑ "Information Desk". Modern Screen. July 1935. p. 10. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- ↑ Crowther, Bosley (1940-05-04). "THE SCREEN; John Garfield and Anne Shirley Seen at Strand in 'Saturday's Children'--'Star Dust' at Roxy". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. para. 4. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ↑ "Anne Marries". News-Journal. Ohio, Mansfield. United Press. August 23, 1937. p. 10. Retrieved July 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "The Red and the Blacklist" by Norma Barzman.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anne Shirley. |
- Anne Shirley at the Internet Movie Database
- Anne Shirley at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Anne Shirley at the Turner Classic Movies database
- Anne Shirley at AllMovie
- Anne Shirley at Find a Grave
- Anne Shirley at Virtual History