Effie Shannon

Who was Effie Shannon?

Effie Shannon was an American stage and silent screen actress. She had a 60 year career as starring performer and later character actress. She began as a child actor appearing with John McCullough and later in 1886 with Robert B. Mantell. Her partner and/or husband was Herbert Kelcey who died in 1917. They appeared in numerous plays as a team predating by a generation the famous Lunt and Fontanne as a great Broadway romantic team. In 1914 she appeared in her first silent film along with Kelcey. They made one more film together in 1916 before his 1917 death. Shannon continued to appear in silent films and early talkies up to 1932 all while still juggling her Broadway appearances. One of her last roles was in a revival of Arsenic and Old Lace.