Classic Movie Travels: Anne Shirley

Classic Movie Travels: Anne Shirley – NYC and Los Angeles

While Anne Shirley did not stay in the entertainment industry for as long as many of her peers did, she offered audiences a variety of notable performances.

Born Dawn Evelyeen Paris on April 17, 1918, in New York City, to Henry and Mimi Paris, she began modeling as a baby and would make her film debut just three years after her birth. Her father was born in the United States, while her mother was from England. Dawn lost her father, who was working as a storage house clerk when she was a baby. This led her to begin working as a child to help make ends meet for her mother. While modeling allowed for young Dawn to contribute to the family’s finances, her mother saw a greater opportunity for financial prosperity with her daughter in films.

In the film industry, Dawn circulated through several different stage names, including Lenn Fondre, Lindley Dawn, and Dawn O’Day. In 1922, she appeared in The Hidden Valley and Moonshine Valley. Because of her successes in films, both mother and daughter left New York for California.

In California, Dawn carried out various minor roles for Paramount Pictures. She soon appeared in Walt Disney’s silent animated series, Alice in Cartoonland, working as the live-action Alice. Dawn also attended the Lawlor Professional School for young performers in Hollywood.

As Dawn grew, she often appeared in roles that cast her as the daughter of a film’s lead actor or actress. This was the case in films like Mother Knows Best (1928), Sins of the Fathers (1928), and Liliom (1930). In other cases, she played a younger version of a film’s lead actress, as she did in 4 Devils (1928), Rich Man’s Folly (1931), and So Big! (1932). Most of her roles during this period were uncredited.

In the 1930s, Dawn appeared in several Vitaphone shorts and soon attracted the attention of casting agents once again. After appearing in films like Rasputin and the Empress (1932) and The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933), she landed the coveted role of Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables (1934). She subsequently changed her stage name for the final time and adopted the name of the film’s heroine: Anne Shirley.

With the success of Anne of Green Gables propelling her career forward, Anne took on many different ingénue roles. Unfortunately, they would soon lead to predominantly B-movies, save for a notable appearance in Stella Dallas (1937) alongside Barbara Stanwyck. Both Anne and Barbara were nominated for Academy Awards as a result of their performances in the film, though neither would take home the award.

Off-screen, Anne met and married fellow actor John Payne in 1937. The couple had a daughter named Julie Payne, who would also pursue acting. The couple divorced in 1943.

While Anne would work in box office successes like Vigil in the Night (1940), several of her film roles were disappointing. One setback happened to be Anne of Windy Poplars (1940), the sequel to Anne of Green Gables. Her final appearance would be alongside Dick Powell in the hit film noir Murder, My Sweet (1944).

Anne married the producer of Murder, My Sweet, Adrian Scott, in 1945. Adrian’s 1947 blacklisting, however, led to the couple’s divorce.

In 1949, Anne married for the final time to screenwriter Charles Lederer, nephew of Marion Davies. The marriage produced a son: Daniel Lederer. The couple would remain together until Charles’ passing in 1976.

No longer working in films, Anne instead enjoyed painting and living as a Hollywood socialite. After her husband’s death, she struggled with alcoholism and became more private. Though she considered reentering the film industry as a dialogue coach, she remained outside of the limelight.

Anne passed away on July 4, 1993, from lung cancer. She was 75 years old.

Due to Anne’s abbreviated time in the industry, there are few tributes to her. The Lawlor Professional School building was demolished in 1980.

In 1920, she resided in an apartment at 510 136^th St in New York City. This is the location today:

In 1930, she was living at 1619 Cherokee Ave in Los Angeles, California. The home has since been razed.

Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame remains at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.

Today, Anne is remembered for her more notable film roles and continues to delight audiences to this day.

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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub

Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.

Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is a PhD student at Dominican University and an independent scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for Classic Movie Hub, she also writes for Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco SocietyMagazine.