Early silent screen comedienne Araminta Durfee, known professionally as Minta, began her career on stage in 1908 as a chorus girl in musical revues. She married comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in August of that year, and the couple entered the fledgling film industry with Mack Sennett in 1914. They were soon paired as a comedy double, with Minta becoming the leading lady in many of Arbuckle's films.
Minta's pairing with Arbuckle was prompted by Mack Sennett, who found the comedian's eccentricities to be a perfect match for Minta's reputation for being able to "get along with everybody." The duo starred in a series of popular films, including the classic madcap farce Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) and a series of outrageous daredevil comedies until 1916.
Minta also worked at Keystone Studios, where she co-starred with comedians such as Chester Conklin, Mack Swain, and Ford Sterling. One notable film from this period is Love, Speed and Thrills (1915),in which Minta was reportedly bribed by director Wilfred Lucas with a pet dog to hang suspended from a bridge, held only by a piano wire.
Minta and Arbuckle separated in 1921, just prior to the scandal surrounding the death of Virginia Rappe, which destroyed Arbuckle's career. Despite divorcing him in 1925, Minta remained Arbuckle's staunchest defender during his three well-publicized trials and throughout her remaining life.
In later years, Minta reminisced about the heyday of silent comedy in a series of interviews, describing most of her fellow players at Sennett Studios, including her husband and comedienne Mabel Normand, as being extremely "shy" when not on the job. She also made several candid revelations about Chaplin's personal hygiene and idiosyncrasies.
Minta continued to make sporadic screen appearances in cameos and walk-ons until the early 1970s, and she died at the Motion Picture Country Home in September 1975 of a heart ailment.
