Arthur Shirley (31 August 1886 – 24 November 1967) was an Australian actor and film producer.
Born Henry Raymond Shirley in Hobart to civil servant Henry Shirley and Sarah Ann, née Morton, he was baptised Arthur and attended Catholic schools. He then worked for Tattersall's Lottery and as a junior solicitor's clerk before moving to Melbourne to pursue a stage career. His first role was a three-line part in Sweet Nell of Old Drury, starring Nellie Stewart. He toured in theatrical productions with William Anderson, George Marlow, Beaumont Smith and George Willoughby through the early 1910s.
On 22 December 1913 he married New Zealand singer Ellen Newcomb Hall at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney; they would separate in 1920 and divorce in 1940.[1]
Declared bankrupt in December 1913, Shirley struggled with financial difficulties before winning the leads in two films, The Silence of Dean Maitland and The Shepherd of the Southern Cross, both opening in 1914; the first was a success.
In June he and his wife moved to the United States, where Shirley was signed by Kalem Company and Universal Studios. He won roles in One Man's Evil (1915), Bawb O' Blue Ridge (1916), The Fall of a Nation (1916) and Branding Broadway (1918) alongside William S. Hart.[1]
Shirley returned to Sydney in April 1920 to found his own company, setting up at Rose Bay with the slogan "Moving Pictures Made in Australia for the World". Although one movie, The Throwback, did begin production, Shirley was declared bankrupt again in 1925 after a court action by his cinematographer, Ernest Higgins. He had played Steve Gunn in a stage adaptation of The Sentimental Bloke in 1923. He was, however, given backing by Pyramid Pictures to produce a film based on The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1925), which remains his greatest achievement. He also wrote, produced, directed and starred in The Sealed Room in 1926.[1]
After an unsuccessful relocation to London in 1927, Shirley attempted a new endeavour in Rhodesia before spending four years in Hollywood from 1930. He married Frances Clayton in 1934, apparently believing his wife to be dead, but returned alone to Sydney later that year.
In 1938 he announced he was going to produce a film in Tasmania called Wings of Love but this did not eventuate.[2]
He adopted a son in 1940, and contested the 1943 federal election as an independent candidate for East Sydney. He devoted his retirement to archaeology and ancient Egypt. Shirley died at Rose Bay in 1967 and was buried at Waverley.[1]