Evelyn Selbie

Evelyn Selbie (July 6, 1871 – December 7, 1950) was an American stage actress and performer in both silent and sound films.

Biography Born in Louisville, Kentucky, as a young woman Selbie was a sidesaddle rider. She had a career which lasted twenty-five years on the stage. She began in Proctor's stock companies in New York after leaving her home. She acted in plays like Human Hearts and The Cat and the Canary. In the former production she starred for two seasons. Selbie also acted in the stock theater company that operated at the Grand Theater in Reno, Nevada. Then she ventured west where she tenured 18 months at the old Central Theatre in San Francisco, California. This was followed by a season in stock in San Diego, California and then a long one in Alaska with T.D. Frawley. During the Alaska tour Evelyn alternated leads with Virginia Thornton.

In 1909, Selbie joined a vaudeville team, leaving the Bentley stock company.

Selbie began her motion picture career in 1912 with the Essanay Company as the leading lady of Broncho Billy Anderson and worked with that company nine years. Her silent movie credits include The Squaw Man, which was the first Hollywood production of Cecil B. De Mille. She continued in motion pictures until 1949 with The Doolins of Oklahoma, in which she played Birdie. She participated in the Fu Manchu film serials and did freelance work on radio.

On December 7, 1950, Selbie died at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Los Angeles, California. She was 79. Selbie entered the Motion Picture Country Hospital two weeks after suffering a heart attack. The interment was at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

Selected filmography

The People vs. John Doe (1916) – Mrs. Doe The Price of Silence (1916) – Jenny Cupps The Mysterious Mrs. M (1917) – Mrs. Musselwhite The Terror (1917) – Mrs. Connelly The Voice on the Wire (1917, Serial) – Pale Ida The Flower of Doom (1917) – Arn Fun The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1917) – Sarah The Flashlight (1917) – Mrs. Barclay Pay Me! (1917) – Hilda Hendricks Sirens of the Sea (1917) – Hadji The Grand Passion (1918) – Boston Kate The Two-Soul Woman (1918) – Leah Danger, Go Slow (1918) – Miss Witherspoon (uncredited) The Red Glove (1919) – Tiajuana Uncharted Channels (1920) – Elsa Smolski A Broadway Cowboy (1920) – Miss Howell Seeds of Vengeance (1920) – Martha Ryerson The Devil to Pay (1920) – Mrs. Roan The Broken Gate (1920) – Julia Delafield Devil Dog Dawson (1921) Without Benefit of Clergy (1921) – Ameera's mother The Devil Within (1921) – Witch Silver Spurs (1922) – Tehama The Half Breed (1922) – Mary Thorns and Orange Blossoms (1922) – Fallie, Rosita's Maid Omar the Tentmaker (1922) – Zarah The Tiger's Claw (1923) – Azun Snowdrift (1923) – Wananebish (prologue) The Broken Wing (1924) – Quichita Name the Man (1924) – Lisa Collister Flapper Wives (1924) – Hulda Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo (1924) – Madame Tranquille Mademoiselle Midnight (1924) – Chiquita Romance Ranch (1924) – Tessa A Cafe in Cairo (1924) – Batooka The Prairie Pirate (1925) – Marie – Housekeeper (uncredited) Lord Jim (1925) – Sultan's Wife (uncredited) The Test of Donald Norton (1926) – Nee-tah-wee-gan Hell-Bent for Heaven (1926) – Meg Hunt – Sid's Mother Silken Shackles (1926) – Tade's Mother The Silver Treasure (1926) – Mother Teresa Flame of the Argentine (1926) – Nana Into Her Kingdom (1926) – Stepan's Mother The Country Beyond (1926) – Martha Leseur Prisoners of the Storm (1926) – Lillian Nicholson Rose of the Tenements (1926) – Sara Kaminsky Camille (1927) – Camille's Mother The King of Kings (1927) – (uncredited) Wings (1927) – Dressing Room Attendant (uncredited) The American (1927) (never-released widescreen film) Eager Lips (1927) Wild Geese (1927) Eternal Love (1929) The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) Love Comes Along (1930) Dangerous Paradise (1930) The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930) Desert Vengeance (1931) Diamond Frontier (1940) White Eagle (1941)