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 most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, Shirley was the daughter of Francis Splaine.

Career

Shirley began her stage career in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

at age 14, when she said two lines in a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

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 tragedy, history, comedy, or otherwise—is a ...

. 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 Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' (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. Dou ...

. 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) * Hollywoo ...

, 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.'' (Miss Barndollar), 1952 (uncredited) * '' The Dancing Masters'' (Matron), 1943 (uncredited) * '' Let's Face It'' (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 f ...

'' (Mrs. Sampson), 1942 (uncredited) * '' Her Cardboard Lover'' (Casino patron watching chemin de fer game), 1942 (uncredited) * '' We Were Dancing'' (Mrs. Charteris), 1942 * '' It Started with Eve'' (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 (American actor), Wayne Morris, Marjorie Rambeau, Irene Rich, Tom Brown (actor), Tom Brown, William T. Orr, ...

'' (Mrs. Tyler), 1941 * '' Nice Girl?'' (Woman Gossip), 1941 (uncredited) * '' Lady with Red Hair'' (Daisy Dawn), 1940 (uncredited) * ''

Third Finger, Left Hand "Third Finger, Left Hand" may refer to: * ''Third Finger, Left Hand'' (film), 1940 American romantic comedy film * "Third Finger, Left Hand" (song), 1972 song by The Pearls {{disambiguation ...

'' (Agnes, dinner guest), 1940 (uncredited) * '' Pier 13'' (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 eclip ...

'' (Guest), 1940 (uncredited) * '' Private Affairs'' (Mrs. Gilkin), 1940 * '' Opened by Mistake'' (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 Associa ...

'' (Fifi), 1923 * ''

Apple Blossoms ''Apple Blossoms'' is a 1919 operetta with music by Fritz Kreisler and Victor Jacobi; and a libretto by William LeBaron. The show is an adaptation of the book ''Un Marriage sous Louis XV'' by Alexander Dumas. ''Apple Blossoms'' opened at the Gl ...

'' (Mrs. Anna Merton), 1920 * '' Oh, Lady! Lady!!'' (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