Evelyn Selbie

Who was Evelyn Selbie?

Evelyn Selbie was a stage actress and performer in silent films.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, as a young woman she was a side-saddle 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. Then she ventured west where she tenured eighteen 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.

Beginning in 1912 Selbie was affiliated with the Western Essanay Company. Selbie began her motion picture career in 1912 as the leading lady of Broncho Billy Anderson. 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 free-lance work on radio.

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