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Alison Bellamy - Osteopath, Wirral Merseyside & Cheshire holistic-centre.org | Clark & Pettus-Bellamy Pediatrics clarkbellamypeds.com |
Madge Bellamy (June 30, 1899 – January 24, 1990) was an American film actress who was a popular leading lady in the 1920s. Her career declined in the sound era, and essentially ended after a fairly minor scandal in the 1940s.
[edit] Early lifeMadge Bellamy was born in Hillsboro, Texas as Margaret Derden Philpott to William Bledsoe Philpott., an English professor, and Annie Margaret Derden (1880-1960). She was of Irish and English heritage. Her father was born in Texas in 1864, and he was also an 1884 graduate of Texas A&M University. Besides teaching English, he taught history and languages, and he also edited many scholarly works. Her parents were married on June 22, 1898 in Hillsboro, Hill County, Texas, and little Margaret arrived one year later on June 30, 1899. Bellamy was raised in San Antonio, Texas until she was 6 years old, and the family later moved to Brownwood, Texas where her father taught at the local college. When she was 10 years old, the Philpotts moved to Denver, Colorado. Bellamy caught the acting bug as a young girl, and she soon appeared in several plays as a youth. She ran away to New York City at age 17, and she was soon working as an actor and dancer on Broadway. In 1918, she played the lead role in "Pollyanna" on Broadway and in the touring show. She also appeared in "Dear Brutus", "Dream Girl", and in "Peg O' My Heart on Broadway". In November 1920, she signed an exclusive contract with Thomas H. Ince's newly formed Triangle film company to appear in the film called "Passing Thru" which was released in the fall of 1921. [edit] CareerBellamy made her film debut in 1920. After 4 years with Famous Players her contract was picked up by Fox Film Corporation. Her best known films include Love Never Dies (1921), Lorna Doone (1922), and The Iron Horse (1924). Bellamy was known as being occasionally impetuous. She made a successful transition to sound film in 1928 with the hit Mother Knows Best but after a dispute with Fox in 1929 she left the studio and could not find work again until 1932 when she began appearing in B movies. She is perhaps best known today for the 1932 film White Zombie in which she starred opposite Bela Lugosi. She had a reputation of being difficult to work with, and she led a lavish life, attending all-night parties and events on a regular basis. Her only marriage was very brief, but she was romantically linked to numerous men during the 1920s and 1930s. [edit] Scandal and declineIn San Francisco in 1943, Bellamy was accused of assault with a deadly weapon for shooting (or shooting at) her wealthy lover Stanwood Murphy. The incident generated much publicity and effectively ended her already fading career. The facts of the case remain somewhat cloudy. Shortly after the shooting, Bellamy was quoted as saying, "I only winged him, which is what I meant to do. Believe me, I'm a crack shot".[1] Some show business references state outright that she shot him. But her defense attorney, the legendary Jake Ehrlich, contended the actress never hit Murphy despite firing several shots at him at close range, and Ehrlich described that as proof that Bellamy had merely intended to scare her lover. Bellamy acknowledged having an affair with the married Murphy, a scandalous admission at the time. But attorney Ehrlich characterized her as a wronged woman. He said she had always refused any gifts or support from her rich lover, relying instead on Murphy's promise to marry her once he was divorced. When Murphy married someone else, Ehrlich said, the humiliated actress set out to teach him a lesson. Amid all the claims and counter-claims, the publicity-shy Murphy soon stopped cooperating with investigators. The charge against Bellamy was eventually dropped. Bellamy made her last screen appearance in 1945. She lived in poverty for much of her post-screen life, worked selling tools in a shop and was unsuccessful in her attempts at becoming a published novelist. In the 1980s, however, she sold her property during the California real estate boom and by her account made more money than she had during her years in films. [edit] DeathMadge Bellamy died of heart failure in Upland, California. Her autobiography, A Darling of the Twenties which she had been planning since the 1970s, was published just months after her death. [edit] References
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