Florence Shirley (born Florence Isabell Splaine; June 5, 1892 – May 12, 1967) was an American stage and film actress.

Early years

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Shirley was the daughter of Francis Splaine.

Career

Shirley began her stage career in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

at age 14, when she said two lines in a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

play put on by John Craig's Castle Square Stock Company. Craig's interest led to her having children's parts in other plays, including boys' parts in productions of

Shakespeare's plays Shakespeare's plays are a canon of approximately 39 dramatic works written by English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare. The exact number of plays—as well as their classifications as Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy, Shakespearean ...

. By 1914, she had become the ingenue of that company. She enjoyed moderate success on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. After the

sinking of the Titanic The sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' had an estimated 2,224 peo ...

in April 1912, she participated in a benefit concert for survivors held at the George M. Cohan Theatre. Her last Broadway appearance was in '' Alice in Arms'' (originally called ''Star in the Window'') alongside

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

. She appeared in more than 50 films throughout her film career.

Personal life and death

On February 14, 1917, Shirley married efficiency engineer A. J. Koehler in New York City. Shirley died in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, California.

Works

Selected filmography

Shirley's film credits include the following: * ''

Stars and Stripes Forever "The Stars and Stripes Forever" is a patriotic American march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896. By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America. History In his 1928 autob ...

'' (Navy nurse), 1952 (uncredited) * ''

Deadline - U.S.A. Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered ...

'' (Miss Barndollar), 1952 (uncredited) * ''

The Dancing Masters ''The Dancing Masters'' is a 1943 black and white American comedy film directed by Malcolm St. Clair, produced by 20th Century-Fox, and featuring Laurel and Hardy. A young Robert Mitchum has a small, uncredited role as a gangster posing as an i ...

'' (Matron), 1943 (uncredited) * ''

Let's Face It '' Let's Face It'' is the fifth studio album by American ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997 by Mercury Records and Big Rig Records. The album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impres ...

'' (Woman in Sun Shell Cafe), 1943 (uncredited) * ''

A Yank at Eton ''A Yank at Eton'' is an American comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mickey Rooney, Ian Hunter, and Peter Lawford. Released in 1942, it is a kind of junior thematic sequel to MGM's British-made fil ...

'' (Mrs. Sampson), 1942 (uncredited) * ''

Her Cardboard Lover ''Her Cardboard Lover'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by George Cukor, starring Norma Shearer (in her final screen role), Robert Taylor, and George Sanders. The screenplay by Jacques Deval, John Collier, Anthony Veiller, and William ...

'' (Casino patron watching chemin de fer game), 1942 (uncredited) * ''

We Were Dancing ''We Were Dancing'' is a short comic play in two scenes by Noël Coward. It is one of ten short plays that make up '' Tonight at 8.30'', a cycle written to be performed in groups of three plays across three evenings. The original production, ...

'' (Mrs. Charteris), 1942 * ''

It Started with Eve ''It Started with Eve'' is a 1941 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, and Charles Laughton. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Music Score (Charles Previ ...

'' (Bit Role), 1941 (uncredited) * '' When Ladies Meet'' (Janet Hopper), 1941 * ''

Three Sons o' Guns ''Three Sons o' Guns'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff, written by Fred Niblo, Jr., and starring Wayne Morris, Marjorie Rambeau, Irene Rich, Tom Brown, William T. Orr, Susan Peters and Moroni Olsen. It was released b ...

'' (Mrs. Tyler), 1941 * ''

Nice Girl? ''Nice Girl?'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by William A. Seiter, and starring Deanna Durbin, Franchot Tone, Walter Brennan, Robert Stack, and Robert Benchley. Based on the play ''Nice Girl?'' by Phyllis Duganne, the film is about a y ...

'' (Woman Gossip), 1941 (uncredited) * ''

Lady with Red Hair ''Lady with Red Hair'' (1940) is an American historical drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Miriam Hopkins, Claude Rains and Richard Ainley. Released by Warner Brothers it stars Hopkins as the nineteenth century actress Mrs. Le ...

'' (Daisy Dawn), 1940 (uncredited) * '' Third Finger, Left Hand'' (Agnes, dinner guest), 1940 (uncredited) * ''

Pier 13 ''Pier 13'' is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lynn Bari, Lloyd Nolan and Joan Valerie.Schlossheimer p.330 It is a remake of the 1932 film '' Me and My Gal'' with Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett in which a wat ...

'' (Mrs. Forrest), 1940 * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (Guest), 1940 (uncredited) * '' Private Affairs'' (Mrs. Gilkin), 1940 * ''

Opened by Mistake ''Opened by Mistake'' is a 1940 film starring Charlie Ruggles and Janice Logan. Plot Journalist buddies Jimmie Daniels and Buzz Nelson have decided to spend their vacation together at the Latonia horse race track on Yucatán, Mexico. Their plans ...

'' (Elizabeth Stiles), 1940 * '' I Take This Woman'' (Mrs. Leila Bettincourt), 1940 (uncredited) * ''

Balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

'' (Lily Allison (Paris tourist)), 1939 (uncredited) * ''

Ninotchka ''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...

'' (Marianne, Swana's Phone Friend), 1939 (uncredited) * '' The Women'' (Miss Archer), 1939 (uncredited)

Broadway

Shirley's Broadway credits include the following productions: * ''Alice in Arms'' (Daisy), 1945 * ''Take My Tip'' (Mrs. Dolly Browning), 1932 * ''Fast Service'' (Doris Borden), 1931 * ''Doctor X'' (Eleanor Stevens), 1931 * ''Embers'' (Germaine Bie), 1926 * ''The Poor Nut'' (Julia Winters), 1925 * ''The Locked Door'' (Muriel Walling), 1924 * ''My Aunt From Ypsilanti'' (Peggy), 1923 * ''

Why Men Leave Home ''Why Men Leave Home'' is a 1924 American silent comedy-drama film directed by John M. Stahl directed and stars Lewis Stone and Helene Chadwick. Produced by Louis B. Mayer and released through First National Pictures (then known as Associated ...

'' (Fifi), 1923 * '' Apple Blossoms'' (Mrs. Anna Merton), 1920 * ''

Oh, Lady! Lady!! ''Oh, Lady! Lady!!'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern, a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse and lyrics by Wodehouse. It was written for the Princess Theatre on Broadway, where it played in 1918 and ran for 219 performances. The story ...

'' (Fanny Welch), 1918 * ''Anthony in Wonderland'', 1917 * ''His Majesty Bunker Bean'', 1916 * '' The Wall Street Girl'' (Pearl Williams), 1912

References

External links

* * 1892 births 1967 deaths American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub