Born Today February 17: Arthur Shirley (I)

1853-1925

British writer and actor Arthur Shirley was born on this date in London, England, UK.  He started out as writer.  This first film to make use of his written work as a source for a screenplay came in 1908 with Saved From The Sea, which is based on a play that he co-wrote with Ben Landeck.  The first film that he worked directly for in crafting a "Scenario"--in other words, a screenplay--came in 1913 with Sixty Years A Queen, which he worked on with two other writers, from source material from a book of the same name (this is again, another unfortunately lost film).  He made his filmed acting debut in 1915 in the serial short The Girl Detective, in the role of John Talcott, a role that he would reprise many times over during that year.  He did not act in any films beyond the year 1916.  Also in 1915, his My Old Dutch was given full film treatment (see poster above); the play had already been filmed once before in 1911.  That same play would be the only work used as source material in a full sound film, and that came in 1934.  Shirley died in London on 22 August 1925; he was 72 years of age. He had been married to one Florence Mary Allen; together they had 5 children.  

Scene from The Girl Detective (1915)

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