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).

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19/01/2020.
Minta Durfee - Actress.
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1. Profile :

Cover of Photoplay, December 1915

Born Araminta Estelle Durfee, October 1, 1889, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died September 9, 1975 (aged 85), Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Other names Minta Durfee Arbuckle
Occupation Actress
Years active 1913–1971
Spouse(s) - Roscoe Arbuckle

(m. 1908–div.1925)
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2. Introduction :

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).
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3. 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.
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4. Media Report  :

Minta Durfee, Actress, 85, Dies; Former Wife of Fatty Arbuckle - Sept. 12, 1975 - The NewYork Times

This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.

Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.
Minta Durfee, the actress who was married to Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle and became Charlie Chaplin's first motionpicture leading lady, died Tuesday in Woodland Hills, a Los Angeles suburb.

Miss Durfee, who was 85 years old, died of a heart ailment at the Motion Picture Country Home.

In recent years, she had been a regular performer on television, and over the years she had appeared in minor roles in such pictures as “How Green Was My Valley,” “Naughty Marietta,” “Rose Marie,” “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”

Miss Durfee, who was born in Los Angeles, entered show business in local companies as a chorus girl at the age of 17. She met Mr. Arbuckle, then also trying out for a career in the theater, and began a courtship that led to marriage in August, 1908.

The two entered the thenrising motion‐picture field as members of Mack Sennett's comedy troupe. Mr. Chaplin joined the company in 1914, fresh from his triumphs in British music halls, and Miss Durfee was his leading lady in “Making a Living,” a two‐reeler, one of his first films, in 1914.

Miss Durfee and Mr. Arbuckle were separated in 1921, just before a scandal involving the death of a starlet in Mr. Arbuckle's San Francisco hotel suite.

There were three trials, after which Mr. Arbuckle was acquitted. While he was cleared, his career was destroyed, and his job offers were few. He died in 1933. The two had been divorced in 1925.
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5. 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
Dirty Work in a Laundry (1915)
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)
The Chance of a Lifetime (1943) as Woman in Hallway (uncredited)
Eve Knew Her Apples (1945) as Landlady (uncredited)
The Son of Rusty (1947) as Townswoman (uncredited)
My Dog Rusty (1948) as Laura Foley (uncredited)
How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955) as Older Woman (uncredited)
Artists and Models (1955) (uncredited)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) as Extra (uncredited)
Hollywood or Bust (1956) as Miss Pettywood (uncredited)
The Buster Keaton Story (1957) as Boarder (uncredited)
An Affair to Remember (1957) as Ship Passenger (uncredited)
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) as Scrubwoman (uncredited)
The Big Fisherman (1959) as Minor Role (uncredited)
My Six Loves (1963) as Woman at Auction (uncredited)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) as a crowd extra watching the fire escape rescue (uncredited)
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) as Denver Party Guest (uncredited)
Caprice (1967) as Agent (uncredited)
Savage Intruder (1970) as Guest
Willard (1971) as Guest (uncredited)
What's the Matter with Helen? (1971) as Old Lady (uncredited)
The Steagle (1971) as Old Lady (uncredited) (final film role)
THE END.
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