Biography
Sheila Terry (March 5, 1910 – January 19, 1957) was an American film actress born Kay Clark in Warroad, Minnesota. She initially studied dramatics at the Dickson-Kenwin Academy, affiliated with London's Royal Academy. Later, she moved to New York, continuing her studies and performing in several plays. While appearing on Broadway in The Little Racketeer, a film scout noticed her, leading to a Warner Bros. contract.
During the 1930s, she acted in Warner Bros. films, including Westerns with John Wayne such as Haunted Gold (1932), Neath the Arizona Skies, and The Lawless Frontier (1934). She also appeared alongside Bette Davis, Louis Calhern, and Spencer Tracy in 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), and with Cary Grant and Sylvia Sidney in Marion Gering's Madame Butterfly (1932). In 1933, she briefly left Hollywood to return to the New York stage. On August 16, 1928, she married Major Laurence E. Clark, a wealthy Toronto socialite, but they divorced on February 16, 1934. In 1937, she wed William Magee from San Francisco and retired from acting. After his passing, Terry sought to return to the entertainment industry but was unable to secure work.
In a 1947 newspaper interview, she remarked, "I'm going back into show business and I need an act, I can't sing, I can't dance and I can't play the piano. I should be terrific in night clubs." She spent 15 years working as a press agent.
In January 1957, her body was found in her third-floor apartment, which served as both her home and office. A friend and neighbor, Jerry Keating, became concerned after failing to contact her by phone. When Terry did not respond to the doorbell, Keating called the police, who broke in and discovered her body on the bedroom floor, leaning against the bed. Five empty capsules were found beside her.
Friends informed police that she had returned from a trip to Mexico a few days before her death and appeared ill. It was later revealed she died in poverty, leaving behind only a sparse wardrobe. Sheila Terry was buried in Potter's Field in New York City.
