Madge Bellamy (born Margaret Derden Philpott; June 30, 1899 – January 24, 1990) was an American stage and film actress. She was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Bellamy's career declined in the sound era and ended following a romantic scandal in the 1940s.
Early life
Margaret Derden Philpott was born in Hillsboro, Texas on June 30, 1899 to William Bledsoe and Annie Margaret Derden Philpott. Bellamy was raised in San Antonio, Texas until she was six years old, and the family later moved to Brownwood, Texas, where her father worked as an English professor at Texas A&M.
As a child, Bellamy took dancing lessons and soon aspired to become a stage performer. She made her stage debut dancing in a local production of Aida, at the age of nine.
The Philpotts later moved to Denver, Colorado. Madge met and married Carlos Bellamy in Colorado, but they divorced when she decided to leave Colorado to pursue her acting career. In her autobiography, she later claimed that her agent suggested the name, possibly to avoid the scandal of divorce.
Career
Early years
Shortly before she was to graduate from high school, Bellamy left home for New York City. She soon began working as a dancer on Broadway. After appearing in the chorus of The Love Mill (1917), Bellamy decided to try acting. In 1918, she appeared in a touring production of Pollyanna, for which she received good reviews. Bellamy's big break came when she replaced Helen Hayes in the Broadway production of Dear Brutus opposite William Gillette, in 1918.
thumb|left|Bellamy photographed by [[Alfred Cheney Johnston, Shadowland, June 1921]]
After the tour of Dear Brutus ended, Bellamy joined a stock company in Washington D.C., where she appeared in Peg o' My Heart. While a member of the company, Bellamy shot a screen test for director Thomas H. Ince. In November 1920, she signed a three-year contract with Ince's newly formed Triangle Film Corporation. Bellamy's first film for Triangle was 1921's The Cup of Life, starring Hobart Bosworth. and was cast in several melodramas by Ince. In 1924, Bellamy's contract with Ince ended and she signed with Fox Film Corporation where she would stay for the next five years. While at Fox, she appeared in two films for John Ford, The Iron Horse (1924) and Lightnin. By 1925, Bellamy began encountering difficulties due to several "artistic differences" she had with studio executives. That year, she refused to accept a role in the highly successful silent epic Ben-Hur. She later attributed her career decline to her own choice of wanting to appear in light comedy and flapper roles that showcased her looks instead of more demanding roles. Bellamy later told author Anthony Slide that she was in fact cast as "Diane", but was replaced by Janet Gaynor (who won the first Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in the film) when she was in France shooting exterior shots. Bellamy instead appeared in the romantic comedy Very Confidential, in which she appeared as a model who impersonates a famous female sports figure. In 1928, Bellamy was cast in Fox's first part-talking film, Mother Knows Best. Reviews for the film were generally positive with critics noting that Bellamy's voice was weak.
Bellamy's final silent film, Fugitives, was released in 1929. Her first full length, all-talking feature, Tonight at Twelve, was released later that year.
In 1929, she walked out on her contract at Fox after refusing to star in the planned film adaptation of The Trial of Mary Dugan, a 1927 hit Broadway play by Bayard Veiller that the studio bought especially for Bellamy (the film was made later that year at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Norma Shearer). Bellamy later said of her career, "I got too big for my britches. I wanted too much money and when it was not forthcoming, I quit."
Bellamy attempted to find work as a freelance actress but did not work again until 1932 when she began appearing in Poverty Row films. One of her better known roles from this period was in the 1932 film White Zombie, opposite Bela Lugosi and directed by brothers Edward and Victor Hugo Halperin. She was slated to appear in the Halperin brothers' next film, Supernatural, but Carole Lombard was cast instead.
Bellamy later admitted that she waited around Murphy's apartment in the Nob Hill area for four days. She eventually spotted Murphy leaving the Pacific-Union Club on January 20. While Murphy was getting into his car, Bellamy fired three shots at him. She later said, "I wasn't within speaking distance [of Murphy], but he saw me and shouted something I didn't understand. Maybe it was 'don't.' Then I guess I shot at him. He ducked and ran." She fired three times, hitting Murphy's car twice while the third shot missed. Witnesses wrestled the gun out of her hand.
Shortly after the shooting, Bellamy claimed that she did not intend to harm Murphy and that she "... just wanted to see him. He wouldn't see me so I took the little gun with me. [...] I had had the little gun so long I thought it was just a toy." On February 11, 1943, Bellamy pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of violating a gun law and was given a suspended six-month sentence. She was also sentenced to one year of probation.
In July 1943, Bellamy sued Murphy for divorce in Las Vegas claiming that she and Murphy were married by "mutual consent" in April 1941 and had lived as husband and wife up until Murphy ended the relationship. She charged Murphy with "extreme mental cruelty" and asked for both temporary and permanent alimony. In December 1943, Albert Stanwood Murphy asked that the court dismiss the suit, stating that he and Bellamy "are not now and have never been husband and wife".
On January 4, 1944, a Nevada court denied Bellamy's divorce suit on the grounds that she and Murphy had never legally been married. One day after Bellamy's divorce case was dismissed, she was awarded a reported six-figure out-of-court settlement from Murphy.
The shooting and divorce filing generated publicity for Bellamy, but effectively ended her already fading career. She made her last screen appearance in Northwestern film Northwest Trail in 1945. Bellamy returned to the stage in 1946 in the Los Angeles production of Holiday Lady, after which she retired.
For her contributions to the film industry, Bellamy received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. The star is located at 6517 Hollywood Boulevard.
Personal life
Bellamy was briefly married to bond broker Logan F. Metcalf. They married in Tijuana on January 24, 1928. They separated four days later. Metcalf filed for divorce claiming that while the two were on honeymoon, Bellamy had refused to speak to him because of his fondness for eating ham and eggs, which she considered "plebeian". Metcalf was granted a divorce on April 25, 1928.
By the time Bellamy retired from acting, she had squandered much of her fortune and lost the remaining money during the Depression. In her final years, Bellamy lived alone in Ontario, California.
Death
Bellamy suffered from chronic heart problems toward the end of her life. On January 10, 1990, she checked into the San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland, California for treatment. Bellamy is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Her autobiography A Darling of the Twenties was published one month after her death.