Minta Durfee

Minta Durfee
Durfee in 1915
Born
Araminta Estelle Durfee

(1889-10-01)October 1, 1889
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 9, 1975(1975-09-09) (aged 85)
Los Angeles California, U.S.
Other nameMinta Durfee Arbuckle
OccupationActress
Years active1913–1971
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1908; div. 1925)​

Araminta Estelle "Minta" Durfee (October 1, 1889 – September 9, 1975) was an American silent film actress from Los Angeles, California, possibly best known for her supporting role in Mickey (1918).

Marriage to Arbuckle

She met Roscoe Arbuckle when he was attempting to get started in theater,[citation needed] and the two married on August 8, 1908, in Los Angeles. Durfee entered show business in local companies as a chorus girl at the age of 17. She was the first leading lady of Charlie Chaplin.

Durfee and Arbuckle separated in 1921, just prior to a scandal involving the death of starlet Virginia Rappe. There were three trials and, finally, Arbuckle was acquitted, but his career was destroyed and he received few job offers. Durfee and Arbuckle divorced in 1925. Durfee in her later years said Arbuckle was "the most generous human being I've ever met", and "if I had to do it all over again, I'd still marry the same man." Durfee was an avid defender of her close friend Mabel Normand throughout Normand's many public scandals.

Career

Early in her career, Durfee sang in shows in Los Angeles. After she and Arbuckle separated she operated a cosmetics business on Hollywood Boulevard.

A regular performer on television, Durfee appeared on such shows as Noah's Ark (1956). She had minor roles in motion pictures including How Green Was My Valley (1941), Naughty Marietta (1935), Rose-Marie (1936), It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), and Savage Intruder (1970).

Later years and death

In later life, Durfee gave lectures on silent film and held retrospectives on her and her former husband's pictures. She was surprised and excited by the renewed interest in silent film.

Durfee died in Woodland Hills, California, at the Motion Picture Country Home in 1975. She suffered from a heart ailment.

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 "'Fatty's' Ex-Wife Grief-Stricken at Comedian's Death". Los Angeles Record. June 29, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved October 3, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Schneider, Don; Normand, Stephen (July 21, 1974). "Excerpts of Interview with Minta Durfee Arbuckle". Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Minta Durfee, Actress, 85, Dies; Former Wife of Fatty Arbuckle". New York Times. September 12, 1975. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  4. ↑ Del Olmo, Frank (September 12, 1975). "Fatty Arbuckle's First Wife Dies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 "Minta Durfee Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  6. ↑ Blottner, Gene (2011). Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926-1955: The Harry Cohn Years. McFarland & Company. p. 282. ISBN 978-0786433537.
  7. ↑ Blottner, p. 283.
  8. ↑ Walker, Brent E. (2009). "Minta Dufee". Mack Sennett's Fun Factory. McFarland & Co. p. 500. ISBN 978-0786436101.