Charlotte Shelby
Encyclopedia
Charlotte Shelby (19 December 1877 - 13 March 1957) was a popular Broadway
actress in her youth and was long noted as a suspect in the murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor
.
and Margaret Shelby
. She was reportedly domineering and manipulative in the management of her daughters' Broadway and film careers. Shelby was widely mentioned as a suspect in the murder of William Desmond Taylor, who was romanticly involved with her daughter Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly). The Taylor murder was followed by sensationalized and often fabricated newspaper reports which fed years of scandal. Shelby owned a .38 calibre revolver along with unusual bullets which were similar to the one which had killed Taylor. When this became public years later, she reportedly threw the pistol into a Louisiana
bayou
. Shelby was socially acquainted with the Los Angeles county district attorney and spent many years in Europe, both to escape the efforts of his successor to question her and avoid much adverse press attention. Almost twenty years after the murder, Los Angeles
district attorney Buron Fitts
concluded there wasn't any evidence for an indictment of Shelby and recommended that the remaining evidence and case files be retained on a permanent basis (all of these materials subsequently disappeared). In 1999 it was reported that in 1964 actress Margaret Gibson
had made a deathbed confession to Taylor's murder, however no independent confirmation has emerged.
For many years she and her daughters were entangled in bitter disputes over how she had handled their earnings as young actresses. Margaret died of alcohol related illness in 1939 but Mary reconciled fully with her mother. Charlotte Shelby died in Santa Monica, California
in 1957. She was originally buried in a private and locked section at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
. Mary Miles Minter
later had her mother's remains, along with those of her sister Margaret, cremated and scattered.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actress in her youth and was long noted as a suspect in the murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s...
.
Stage mother to scandal
Shelby was the mother of actresses Mary Miles MinterMary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter was an American film actress of the silent film era.-Early life and rise to stardom:Born Juliet Reilly in Shreveport, Louisiana, Minter was the daughter of Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby...
and Margaret Shelby
Margaret Shelby
Margaret Shelby was an American stage and motion picture actress, daughter of actress Charlotte Shelby, older sister of silent film star Mary Miles Minter and one of many public figures noted in the scandals which followed the murder of William Desmond Taylor in 1922.-Film career:Born as Margaret...
. She was reportedly domineering and manipulative in the management of her daughters' Broadway and film careers. Shelby was widely mentioned as a suspect in the murder of William Desmond Taylor, who was romanticly involved with her daughter Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly). The Taylor murder was followed by sensationalized and often fabricated newspaper reports which fed years of scandal. Shelby owned a .38 calibre revolver along with unusual bullets which were similar to the one which had killed Taylor. When this became public years later, she reportedly threw the pistol into a Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
bayou
Bayou
A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...
. Shelby was socially acquainted with the Los Angeles county district attorney and spent many years in Europe, both to escape the efforts of his successor to question her and avoid much adverse press attention. Almost twenty years after the murder, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
district attorney Buron Fitts
Buron Fitts
Buron Rogers Fitts was a California politician, who was the 29th Lieutenant Governor of the state from 1927 to 1928 and Los Angeles County district attorney thereafter until 1940....
concluded there wasn't any evidence for an indictment of Shelby and recommended that the remaining evidence and case files be retained on a permanent basis (all of these materials subsequently disappeared). In 1999 it was reported that in 1964 actress Margaret Gibson
Ella Margaret Gibson
Ella Margaret "Gibby" Gibson , generally known as Margaret Gibson or Patricia Palmer, was an American stage and silent film actress who had leading roles in Vitagraph westerns, often opposite William Clifford. She also appeared with Charles Ray in The Coward and later worked in two Westerns with...
had made a deathbed confession to Taylor's murder, however no independent confirmation has emerged.
For many years she and her daughters were entangled in bitter disputes over how she had handled their earnings as young actresses. Margaret died of alcohol related illness in 1939 but Mary reconciled fully with her mother. Charlotte Shelby died in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
in 1957. She was originally buried in a private and locked section at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
. Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter
Mary Miles Minter was an American film actress of the silent film era.-Early life and rise to stardom:Born Juliet Reilly in Shreveport, Louisiana, Minter was the daughter of Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby...
later had her mother's remains, along with those of her sister Margaret, cremated and scattered.
Filmography
- DimplesDimples (1916 film)-Plot:Dimples is a young girl, whose father dies. She goes to the South to live with her aunt, but doesn't know her father has hidden his legacy in her doll. She falls in love with Robert, who is threatened with financial ruin.-Cast:* Mary Miles Minter - Dimples...
(1916) - Always in the WayAlways in the WayAlways in the Way is a 1915 silent film directed by J. Searle Dawley. The film, which was based on the song with the same name, was partially filmed on the Bahamas.-Plot:...
(1915) - The Fairy and the WaifThe Fairy and the WaifThe Fairy and the Waif is a 1915 silent film directed by Marie Hubert Frohman and George Irving. The film was the debut of actress Mary Miles Minter, who was twelve years old by the time of the release.-Plot:...
(1915)
External links
- Taylorology issues containing interviews and testimony of Charlotte Shelby: #6 (1929), #12 (1937), #35 (1935), #81 (1929)
- Charlotte Shelby at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...