Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly; April 25, 1902Louisiana Birth Certificate, Caddo Parish, No. 119, Book A, Page 97, Birth Date: April 25, 1902, Name: Mary M. Reilly [sic – Original Caddo birth record was recorded as "J.H. Riley's Child"], Sex: Female, Place of Birth: Shreveport, Father: J. Homer Reilly [sic – Original Caddo birth record recorded his name as "J.H. Riley"], Born: Texas, Age: 25, Mother: Pearl Miles, Born: Louisiana, Age: 23.SSDI: Name: Mary O. Hildebrandt, Birth: April 25, 1902, Issued: California, Death: August 1984– August 4, 1984) was an American actress, and one of the leading ladies who established the early Hollywood star system.O’Dell, 1970 p. 150“The final major leading lady who helped to create the star system.” She appeared in 53 silent films from 1912 to 1923.
In 1922, Minter was involved in a scandal surrounding the murder of director William Desmond Taylor, for whom she professed her love. Gossip implicated her mother, former actress Charlotte Shelby, as the murderer, and as a result Minter's reputation was tarnished. She gave up her film career in 1923.O’Dell, 1970 p. 156: “Obviously, [the murder] was in many ways responsible for the end of the career...of Mary Miles Minter (who was suspected of having an affair with Taylor).”
Early life Minter was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the younger of two daughters born to J. Homer Reilly and Lily Pearl Miles (later known as Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby; 1877–1957).Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 232 Her sister was Margaret Reilly, who later became an actress using the name Margaret Shelby.
Career Stage and film career
At the age of five, she accompanied her sister Margaret on an audition because no babysitter was available. She was noticed by the director and given her first part. She began her stage career and frequently was employed afterward, widely noted for both her talent and visual appeal.Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 232: See here for critic Percy Hammond’s favorable response to Minter. To avoid child labor laws while the 10-year-old was appearing in a play in Chicago in 1912, Charlotte Shelby obtained the birth certification of her older sister's deceased daughter from Louisiana, and Juliet became Mary Miles Minter.
In her screen debut, in which she was billed as Juliet Shelby, she appeared in the 1-reel short film The Nurse (1912).Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 232: “Her screen debut appears to have been in The Nurse (1912)...” Her new stage name was applied, and Minter starred in the role as Viola Drayton, the fairy, in the 5-reel drama The Fairy and the Waif (1915).Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 232: “...in 1914 she appeared in her first feature, The Fairy and the Waif...” A reviewer in the New York Dramatic Mirror declared: “Mary Miles Minter is the greatest child actress to be seen either on stage or before the camera. She is exquisitely fascinating, sympathetically charming, and delightfully childlike and human.”Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 232
Minter's career steadily grew after that. She specialized in playing demure young women. With her photogenic features, blue eyes, and blonde curls, she emulated and later rivaled Mary Pickford.Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 233: “The Moving Picture World compared her to Mary Pickford.”
Her first movie for director William Desmond Taylor was Anne of Green Gables (1919). It was well-received, and Taylor actively promoted Minter.Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 233: “...utterly delightful…” According to Minter, a romantic relationship developed between them. O’Dell, 1970 p. 156: “William Desmond Taylor, with whom Minter fell in love...” However, Minter (who had grown up fatherless) said Taylor had reservations from the outset and later curtailed the romance, citing their 30-year age difference. Other people who knew Taylor and Minter said he never reciprocated her feelings.
Scandal On February 1, 1922, Taylor was murdered in his home, a two-story bungalow apartment on Alvarado Street, at the southeast corner of Alvarado and Maryland Street in the Westlake area of Los Angeles.Wagenknecht, 1962 pp. 234-238: See here for material on murder and effect on Minter’s career.
The ensuing scandal, following the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle scandal of Labor Day weekend 1921, and Arbuckle's murder trials, was the subject of widespread media speculation and embellishment. Newspapers reported that coded love letters written by Minter had been found in his bungalow after his death (these were later shown to have been written three years earlier in 1919). Minter was at the height of her success, having starred in more than 50 films, and newspaper revelations of the 20-year-old star's association with the 49-year-old murdered director was cause for a sensational scandal.O'Dell, 1970 p. 156
There were several suspects (including her mother Charlotte Shelby) in the long investigation of Taylor's murder. In 1937, Minter publicly announced to the Los Angeles Examiner newspaper: "Now I demand that I either be prosecuted for the murder committed fifteen years ago, or exonerated completely. If the District Attorney has any evidence, he should prosecute. If not, then I should be exonerated... Shadows have been cast upon my reputation." Taylor's murder was never solved, but neither film actress Mabel Normand (who was the last person known to have seen Taylor alive), nor Minter was ever regarded as a serious suspect in the murder by police investigators.O’Dell, 1970 p. 156: “...neither were ever suspected of having committed the murder by the police.”
In a 1970 interview, during which she described Taylor as her "mate," Minter recalled going to view Taylor's body immediately after the murder. In shock, she demanded to be used for a blood transfusion to revive him, not believing he was dead until she touched his body in the morgue: "That deadly cold... convinced me as nothing else could have done. No life can return to this man." She broke down and sobbed: "They crucified Jesus. Now they've crucified... They've crucified my mate."
Later career and retirement Minter made four more motion pictures for Paramount, with her last being The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1923). The studio did not renew her contract: she was 23 years old. O’Dell, 1970 p. 156: “She made four more pictures for Paramount, and then her contract was terminated; Miss Minter was 23-years old.” She received many other offers but declined them all, saying she had never been happy as an actress.
Personal life
Minter was involved with James Kirkwood Sr. for a time in 1916 when she was 15 years old. Minter and Kirkwood "married" without benefit of clergy in the countryside near Santa Barbara. The relationship ended after Minter became pregnant by Kirkwood and underwent an abortion, which was paid for by her mother.
In late 1922, several months after Taylor's death, Minter became involved romantically for a time with then-news correspondent of Los Angeles and movie critic Louis Sherwin, who had at one time been married to actress Maude Fealy.
In 1925, Minter sued her mother for an accounting of the money Shelby had received for her during her screen career.'Mother Is Sued by Miss Minter', Los Angeles Times (January 30, 1925). The case was settled out of court, with the settlement being signed by Minter and Shelby at the American consulate in Paris, France, on January 24, 1927.Los Angeles Examiner (May 29, 1936). The settlement was entered into evidence in a 1936 lawsuit against an investment firm.
In 1934, a hearing took place in Los Angeles, in which Hilda Desey, the proprietor of a dress shop on Wilshire Blvd., claimed that Minter entered her shop and took a tweed dress valued at $55.00 by force. Minter countered in court by stating that she had helped finance Miss Desey's dress shop and that she took the dress as she was owed interest. The deputy district attorney declined to issue a complaint for either petty theft or malicious mischief, as it was decided that there was no evidence of malicious intent on the part of Minter.
In 1957, Minter and real estate developer Brandon O. Hildebrandt (1898–1965) were married. They remained married until Hildebrandt's death in 1965."Memorial Rites for Real Estate Developer Set." Los Angeles Times. August 24, 1965. p. 18.
Later years Minter commented she was content to live without her Hollywood career. She later reconciled with her mother and proclaimed her love for Taylor throughout her life. Minter's money had been invested in Los Angeles real estate, and she seems to have lived in relative comfort and prosperity. She later moved to a house in Santa Monica, California; her mother Charlotte Shelby died there in 1957.
In 1981, Minter was severely beaten in a burglary at her home in which more than $300,000 worth of antiques, china and jewelry were taken. A former live-in companion and three other people were charged with attempted murder and burglary."Mary Minter, a Golden Girl Tinged with Scandal, Dies." Los Angeles Times. August 11, 1984. p. A 1. The police described her as a frail old woman, and people often were shocked to learn she had been a famous movie star.
Minter died in 1984 at age 82 from a stroke in Santa Monica.California Death Index, Name: Mary O. Hildebrandt, Birth Date: 04-01 [sic – 1902, Mother's Maiden Name: Miles, Father's Last: Reilly, Sex: Female, Birth Place: Louisiana, Death Place: Los Angeles (19), Death Date: 08-05-1984, Age: 82 yrs. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at sea. For her contribution to movies, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1724 Vine Street in Hollywood.
Legacy Much of Minter's work has been lost; of her 53 films, approximately a dozen are known to exist today. A print of her 1919 movie The Ghost of Rosy Taylor surfaced in New Zealand in the 1990s. Other known surviving movies include The Fairy and the Waif (1915), Youth's Endearing Charm (1916), A Dream or Two Ago (1916), The Innocence of Lizette (1916), The Eyes of Julia Deep (1918), Nurse Marjorie (1920), A Cumberland Romance (1920) and The Little Clown (1921). "A Dream or Two Ago" and "The Innocence of Lizette" on the showing programme.
Film historian Edward Wagenknecht provides this retrospective observation regarding Minter's film legacy:
Wagenknecht adds: “Miss Minter was well aware of this, young as she was, and deeply distressed by it.”Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 233: See footnote for this quote, referred to interview with Elizbeth Peltret, Photoplay, February, 1918 entitled “The Golden Girl of the West.”
Filmography