Shirley Grey

American actress (1902–1981)

Foster Williams

(m. 1921; div. 1925)

Arthur Margetson

(m. 1936; died 1951)

^[1]

Shirley Grey (born Agnes Zetterstrand;^[2] April 11, 1902 – August 12, 1981) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1930 and 1935.

Biography

Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, Grey was the daughter of E. A 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]

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]

On August 28, 1921, Grey married actor Foster Williams,^[9] known professionally as Frank McCarthy.^[10] 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.