Sheila Bromley

Sheila Bromley (born Sheila LeGay, October 31, 1911 – July 23, 2003), (The reference work Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003 gave her birth date as October 31, 1907). Sometimes billed as Sheila LeGay, Sheila Manners, Sheila Mannors or Sheila Manors, was an American television and film actress. She is best known for her roles in B-movies, mostly Westerns of the era.

Early years

Bromely was born in San Francisco, California. She attended Hollywood High School, and her first acting experience came at the Pasadena Playhouse. She was a Miss California.

Career

Bromley began her career in the early 1930s on contract with Monogram Pictures, she was first billed as Sheila LeGay starring in 1930 westerns alongside Tom Tyler. She frequently co-starred with Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, Johnny Mack Brown, Bill Cody, and Dick Foran. She first starred alongside Bill Cody in the 1932 western Land of Wanted Men. She starred opposite John Wayne in the 1935 films Westward Ho & Lawless Range and the 1937 film Idol of the Crowds. Bromley appeared uncredited in the Marx Brothers film Horse Feathers (1932) where she delivered the famous line "The Dean is furious! He's waxing wroth!" In 1944, she appeared in the touring production of Good Night Ladies. Bromley performed on Broadway in Time for Elizabeth (1948).

In 1960, she appeared as a central character Mrs. Spencer alongside Paul Brinegars character Wishbone in the Rawhide episode "Incident of the Deserter". She appeared in one episode of I Love Lucy as Helen Erickson Kaiser, the childhood friend of Lucy Ricardo. She also made five guest appearances on Perry Mason during the series' nine-year run on CBS. In her first appearance in 1959 she played co-defendant Agnes Nulty in The Case of the Borrowed Brunette. In 1962 she played murderer Elizabeth Dow in The Case of the Mystified Miner. She also guest-starred in a 1965 episode of The Cara Williams Show.

During World War II she worked often for the USO, continuing that service until the war ended in 1945. There she met her husband Jairus Bellamy. She is credited with seventy-five films in her career, of which seventeen were westerns, for which she is best known. Bromley retired from films in the 1970s and lived in the Greater Los Angeles Area until her death in 2003.

Death

On July 23, 2003, Bromley died in Los Angeles, California. The reference work Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003 gave her age as 95.

Selected filmography