Helen Shaw (actress)

Shaw was born on July 25, 1897 in Birmingham, Michigan,[2] the daughter of Bertha Maud (née Crafts; 1873-1964) [3] and Dr. Nenian Thomas Shaw (1867-1952),[4] a Canadian-born physician.[5] Shaw studied medicine at one time and on February 17, 1923 was present in Egypt when Howard Carter unsealed the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. [6] She married Loren George Stauch (1892-1957) on April 22, 1918 in Birmingham[7] and they had one daughter, Patricia Alliene Stauch (1924-2018),[8] before divorcing in August 1935, with extreme cruelty being cited as Shaw's reason for seeking the divorce.[9] In her 1989 appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson she mentioned the marriage as being brief and commented on how couples need to be well paired for one to work.[1]

In 1938, Shaw, along with her parents and daughter, moved to southern California.[10] Shaw became active as a writer and director with the Theatre Americana of Altadena,[11] and served as a writing coach for 30 years.[12] She later took stage acting roles at the Theatre Americana and the Glendale Centre Theatre. Then at the age of 82 became a professional actress. Her first notable role was in the television movie Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case in 1980, which was followed by several additional appearances in film and television.[13]

Shaw died on September 8, 1997, a month and a half after her 100th birthday, in Los Angeles and was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California under the name Helen Shaw Stauch.[2] She was survived by her daughter and two granddaughters.[8]

• Helen Shaw at IMDb
• Helen Shaw at Find a Grave