
Selena Royle
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1904-11-06
Day of Death
1983-04-23 (78 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Selena Royle
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Selena Royle (November 6, 1904 – April 23, 1983) was an American actress (of stage, radio, television and film), and later, an author. Royle was born in New York City to playwright Edwin Milton Royle and actress Selena Fetter (April 12, 1860 - May 10, 1955). She had an older sister, Josephine Fetter Royle (1901–1992).
Her mother recounted in a newspaper article that she used to take Selena along with her to her rehearsals and performances. One night, then seven-year-old Selena went missing. While the mother frantically searched for her, holding up act two, the audience became restless. The youngster finally turned up - she had gone on stage dressed in her mother's second-act costume; she made a bow, much to the audience's amusement. She later remarked, "And that is the first time I was ever on stage, and I liked it so well I stayed."
Her father wrote the 1921 Broadway play Lancelot and Elaine to provide both her and sister Josephine with their first professional roles, as Guinevere and Elaine respectively. Eventually, she landed a part on her own in the 1923 Theatre Guild production of Peer Gynt, with Joseph Schildkraut, and became a respected Broadway actress. She made one film in the 1930s, Misleading Lady, but otherwise worked on the stage and on radio.
Royle began her radio career in 1926 or 1927 and performed "almost continuously since", according to a 1939 newspaper item.
Her body of work includes playing the title role in Hilda Hope, M.D. She also played Martha Jackson in Woman of Courage, Mrs. Allen in Against the Storm, Joan in The O'Neills, and Mrs. Gardner in Betty and Bob, and appeared in Kate Hopkins.
In the 1940s, she returned to film and had a successful run, mainly playing maternal characters such as the bereaved mother of The Fighting Sullivans (1944), mother to Jane Powell in the big screen adaptation of A Date with Judy (1948) and the title character's mother opposite Ingrid Bergman as Joan of Arc (1948).
She made several appearances on early television. However, in 1951, when she refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. She sued the American Legion, which had published Red Channels, in which her name was listed, and won but her acting career ended. She made only three more roles, the last being Murder Is My Beat (1955).
She also wrote several books, including Guadalajara: as I Know It, Live It, Love It (which went through several editions) and a couple of cookbooks, and some magazine articles. She was the "radio editor" of the short-lived New York periodical Swank.
Acting
(1974)
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1955)
Murder Is My Beat
as Beatrice Abbott
(1953)
Robot Monster
as Mother
(1951)
He Ran All the Way
as Mrs. Dobbs
(1951)
Come Fill the Cup
as Mrs. Dolly Copeland
(1950)
Branded
as Mrs. Lavery
(1950)
The Damned Don't Cry
as Patricia Longworth
(1950)
The Big Hangover
as Kate Mahoney
(1949)
The Heiress
as Elizabeth Almond
(1949)
My Dream Is Yours
as Freda Hofer
(1949)
You're My Everything
as Mrs. Adams
(1949)
Bad Boy
as Judge Florence Prentiss
(1948)
Joan of Arc
as Isabelle d'Arc, Joan's Mother
(1948)
Moonrise
as Aunt Jessie
(1948)
A Date with Judy
as Mrs. Foster
(1948)
Smart Woman
as Mrs. Wayne
(1948)
Summer Holiday
as Mrs. Essie Miller
(1948)
You Were Meant for Me
as Cora Mayhew
(1947)
Cass Timberlane
as Louise Wargate
(1947)
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
as Sairy MacBean
(1946)
Night and Day
as Kate Porter
(1946)
The Harvey Girls
as Miss Bliss
(1946)
Courage of Lassie
as Mrs. Merrick
(1946)
Till the End of Time
as Mrs. Kincheloe
(1946)
The Green Years
as Mama Leckie
(1946)
Gallant Journey
as Mrs. Zachary Montgomery
(1946)
No Leave, No Love
as Mrs. Hanlon
(1945)
This Man's Navy
as Maude Weaver
(1945)
Main Street After Dark
as 'Ma' Abby Dibson
(1944)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
as Mrs. Reynolds
(1944)
Mrs. Parkington
as Mattie Trounson
(1944)
The Fighting Sullivans
as Mrs. Alleta Sullivan
(1943)
Stage Door Canteen
as Selena Royle
(1932)
The Misleading Lady
as Alice Connell