Minta Durfee

Minta Durfee
Cover of Photoplay, December, 1915
Born	Araminta Estelle Durfee (1889-10-01)October 1, 1889 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	September 9, 1975(1975-09-09) (aged 85) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Other names	Minta Durfee Arbuckle
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1913–1971
Spouse(s)	Roscoe Arbuckle (m. 1908–1925; divorced)

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 role in Mickey (1918).

Biography

She met Roscoe Arbuckle when he was attempting to get started in theater, and the two married in August 1908. Durfee entered show business in local companies as a chorus girl at the age of seventeen. 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. His career was destroyed and he received few job offers. Durfee and Arbuckle were divorced in 1925. Durfee was quoted in her later years as saying 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, and she spoke fondly of her until her own death.

A regular performer on television, Durfee appeared on such shows as Noah's Ark (1956). She had minor roles in motion pictures like 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).

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

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

Selected filmography

• Fatty's Day Off (1913, Short)
• A Quiet Little Wedding (1913, Short) as Fatty's Fiancée
• Fatty at San Diego (1913, Short) as The Girl at the Carnival
• Wine (1913, Short) as The Diner's Sweetheart
• Fatty Joins the Force (1913, Short) as Nursemaid (uncredited)
• Fatty's Flirtation (1913, Short) as Minta
• A Misplaced Foot (1914, Short)
• The Under-Sheriff (1914, Short) as The Sheriff's Wife
• A Flirt's Mistake (1914, Short) as Wife (uncredited)
• Rebecca's Wedding Day (1914, Short) as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
• Making a Living (1914, Short) as Girl (uncredited)
• Tango Tangles (1914, Short) as Guest
• Cruel, Cruel Love (1914, Short) as The Lady
• The Star Boarder (1914, Short) as Landlady
• Twenty Minutes of Love (1914, Short) as Edgar's Girl
• Where Hazel Met the Villain (1914, Short)
• Caught in a Cabaret (1914, Short) as Cabaret Patron / Girl in Park (uncredited)
• A Suspended Ordeal (1914, Short)
• The Water Dog (1914, Short) as The Nursemaid
• The Alarm (1914, Short)
• The Knockout (1914, Short) as Pug's Sweetheart (uncredited)
• Fatty and the Heiress (1914, Short)
• Fatty's Finish (1914, Short)
• The Sky Pirate (1914, Short)
• Those Happy Days (1914, Short)
• Fatty's Gift (1914, Short) as Fatty's Wife
• The Masquerader (1914, Short) as Leading Lady
• His New Profession (1914, Short)
• The Rounders (1914, Short) as Fatty's Wife
• Lover's Luck (1914, Short) as The Girl
• Fatty's Debut (1914, Short)
• Fatty Again (1914, Short) as The Proprietor's Daughter
• Lovers' Post Office (1914, Short) as Fatty's Sweetheart
• An Incompetent Hero (1914, Short) as The Neighbor's Maid
• Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) as Crook's Girlfriend in "A Thief's Fate" (uncredited)
• Fatty's Wine Party (1914, Short) as Minor Role (uncredited)
• Leading Lizzie Astray (1914, Short) as Lizzie, the Farm Boy's Fiancée
• Fatty's Magic Pants (1914, Short) as Fatty's Sweetheart
• Fatty and Minnie He-Haw (1914, Short) as Minta
• Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition (1915, Short) as Jealous Husband's Wife (uncredited)
• Mabel, Fatty and the Law (1915, Short) as Flirty Wife
• Fatty's Reckless Fling (1915, Short) as Neighbor's Wife
• Fatty's Chance Acquaintance (1915, Short) as Pickpocket's Girlfriend
• Fatty's Faithful Fido (1915, Short) as Fatty's Sweetheart
• When Love Took Wings (1915, Short)
• Court House Crooks (1915, Short) as The Judge's Wife
• Fickle Fatty's Fall (1915, Short) as Fatty's Wife
• A Village Scandal (1915, Short)
• Fatty and the Broadway Stars (1915, Short) as Sam Bernard's Leading Lady
• Bright Lights (1916, Short) as Minor Role (uncredited)
• His Wife's Mistakes (1916, Short)
• The Other Man (1916, Short)
• The Cabaret (1918)
• Mickey (1918) as Elsie Drake
• Skinner's Dress Suit (1926) as Party Guest (uncredited)
• Naughty Marietta (1935) as Minor Role (uncredited)
• The Man with Nine Lives (1940) as Frozen Therapy Patient (uncredited)
• Glamour for Sale (1940) as Matron (uncredited)
• Rollin' Home to Texas (1940) as Josie Hunkapillar
• The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) as Customer (uncredited)
• How Green Was My Valley (1941) as Bit Part (uncredited)
• The Miracle Kid (1941) as Pheney
• The Man Who Returned to Life (1942) as Mrs. Tuller (uncredited)
• Blondie for Victory (1942) as Housewife of America (uncredited)
• Hollywood or Bust (1956)
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) as a crowd extra watching the fire escape rescue (uncredited)
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
• Savage Intruder (1970)

External links

• Minta Durfee at IMDb
• Minta Durfee at Find a Grave