Shirley Grey
Shirley Grey (born Agnes Evangeline Zetterstrand;[2] April 03, 1902 – August 12, 1981) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1930 and 1935.
Early years
Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, Grey was the daughter of Ernst Adrian Zetterstrand, a minister,[3] who died when she was eight years old. Thereafter, her mother raised Grey and her six siblings.[4] She graduated from Waterbury High School, where she was active in the Dramatic Club.[3]
Career
Grey began her acting career with the Poli Players.[5] She went on to act with companies in New Orleans, Louisiana; Jacksonville, Florida; San Francisco, California, and Nova Scotia.[3] She had her own acting troupe, the Shirley Grey Players, in the late 1920s.[6] In 1931, she starred in the comedy-drama Chicago at the Fulton Theater in Oakland, California. It was the third play of Grey's "limited season".[7]
Grey's work in stock theater led to her career in films. A talent scout who worked for film producer Samuel Goldwyn saw Grey performing in a stock production in Oakland and arranged for her to take a screen test, which led to her signing a contract with Goldwyn.[8]
Personal life
On August 28, 1921, Grey married actor Foster Williams,[9] known professionally as Frank McCarthy.[10] They had one son. She filed for divorce from him on September 30, 1925.[9] In 1936, Grey married English actor Arthur Margetson, who died in 1951.[2]
In her later years, Grey was a semi-recluse, living with her sisters before moving to a Jacksonville Beach, Florida, convalescent home where she died.[11]
Partial filmography
- The Golf Specialist (1930, Short) - House Detective's Wife (uncredited)
- The Public Defender (1931) - Barbara Gerry
- Secret Service (1931) - Miss Edith Varney
- Air Eagles (1931) - Eve
- One Man Law (1932) - Grace Duncan
- Texas Cyclone (1932) - Helen Rawlings
- The Riding Tornado (1932) - Patsy Olcott
- Get That Girl (1932) - Ruth Dale
- The Hurricane Express (1932) - Gloria Martin / Gloria Stratton
- Cornered (1932) - Jane Herrick
- Drifting Souls (1932) - Greta Janson
- Back Street (1932) - Francine
- Virtue (1932) - Gert
- Uptown New York (1932) - Patricia Smith
- Treason (1933) - Joan Randall
- From Hell to Heaven (1933) - Winnie Lloyd
- Private Jones (1933) - Helen Jones
- Out All Night (1933) - Kate
- Terror Aboard (1933) - Lili Kingston
- The Little Giant (1933) - Edith Merriam
- The Girl in 419 (1933) - Nurse Irene Blaine
- The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) - Goldie West
- Don't Bet on Love (1933) - Goldie Williams
- Too Much Harmony (1933) - Lilyan
- Hold the Press (1933) - Edith White
- Murder on the Campus (1933) - Lillian Voyne
- Twin Husbands (1933) - Chloe Werrenden
- Bombay Mail (1934) - Beatrice Jones aka Sonia Smeganoff
- I Like It That Way (1934) - Peggy
- Sisters Under the Skin (1934) - Gilda Gordon
- The Crime of Helen Stanley (1934) - Betty Lane
- One Is Guilty (1934) - Sally Grey
- Green Eyes (1934) - Jean Kester
- The Defense Rests (1934) - Mabel Wilson
- His Greatest Gamble (1934) - Bernice Solon
- Beyond the Law (1934) - Helen Glenn
- Girl in Danger (1934) - Gloria Gale
- Wednesday's Child (1934) - Louise
- Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934) - Anya Rosson
- Public Opinion (1935) - Joan Nash
- Circumstantial Evidence (1935) - Adrienne Grey
- The People's Enemy (1935) - Ann Griffin
- The Girl Who Came Back (1935) - Gilda Gillespie aka Mary Brown
- The Public Menace (1935) - Mimi LaVerne
- The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) - Sarah Briggs
References
- ^ Maxford, Howard (2018). Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. McFarland. p. 537. ISBN 9781476629148.
- ^ a b Maxford, Howard (2018). Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. McFarland. p. 537. ISBN 9781476629148. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Shirley Grey, Leading Lady Here, Began Dramatic Work While Yet in High School". The Courier-News. New Jersey, Bridgewater. October 17, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coons, Robbin (October 5, 1931). "Long Shots and Close-Ups". Star-Gazette. New York, Elmira. p. 17. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cotter, Robert Michael “Bobb” (2014). The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography. McFarland. p. 93. ISBN 9781476602011. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Reade's Plainfield". The Courier-News. New Jersey, Bridgewater. October 29, 1928. p. 13. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fulton Bills Shirley Grey in 'Chicago'". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. March 11, 1931. p. 21. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Shirley Grey Making Good In Pictures". The San Francisco Examiner. California, San Francisco. Universal Service. August 23, 1931. p. 31. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Wife Sues Stock Actor for Divorce". Hartford Courant. Connecticut, Hartford. October 1, 1925. p. 5. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Shirley Grey". Films of the Golden Age (94): 38, 45. Fall 2018.
- ^ Begg, Paul (2014). Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea. Routledge. ISBN 9781317865308. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
External links
- Shirley Grey at IMDb