Sybil Seely
Sybil Seely (born Sibye Travilla, January 2, 1902 – June 26, 1984) was a silent film actress who worked with the well known silent film comedy actor Buster Keaton.
Also recorded as Sibye Trevilla
Sybil Seely

Anonymous for J. H. Tooker Print Co. (New York) · scan of original movie poster (high res source · Public domain
- Name
- Sybil Seely
- Birth Name
- Sibye Travilla
- Born
- 2 January 1902
- Birthplace
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Died
- 26 June 1984
- Place of death
- Culver City, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- Full name
- Sybil Travilla Furthman.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Fields
- silent film.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary summary
Sybil Seely (born Sibye Travilla, January 2, 1902 – June 26, 1984) was a silent film actress who worked with the well known silent film comedy actor Buster Keaton.
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wikidata · Q1137411 · wikipedia · Sybil Seely
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Sybil Seely • Birth Name — Sibye Travilla • Born — 2 January 1902 • Birthplace — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Died — 26 June 1984 • Place of death — Culver City, California, U.S. • Years Active — 1917–1922 • Occupation — Actress • Children — 1
Early years
Early years
Seely was born to Harry Travilla and Lucie Ellen Boyker in Los Angeles, the sixth of seven children. She was of French, English, and Scottish descent. Her three brothers performed "as the Travilla Brothers, a popular vaudeville act featuring stunts in a huge onstage tank using a trained seal named Winks, advertised as 'The Seal With The Human Brain.'"
Career
Career
Seely is known to have appeared in 23 films, and her first role, according to IMDb, was an uncredited part in Her Nature Dance (1917), at the age of 15. This picture was made for the Mack Sennett studio, where she began as a "Bathing Beauty", and where she was under contract for her entire career. Sennett loaned her to Buster Keaton for four short films, including her first role with the great silent screen comedian as his bride and fellow ill-fated house-kit-builder in One Week (1920). This is the role for which Seely is best known, and her unflappable screen personality, as well as the ability to keep up with Keaton and perform her own stunts, earned her the roles in the three other Keaton two-reelers. • Illustration — Still from Buster Keaton's "One Week" with Keaton and co-star Sybil Seely
Personal life
Personal life
In 1920, she married screenwriter Jules Furthman. They had a son, Jules Jr. In 1922, she retired from her acting career.
Death
Death
Seely was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1983 and also suffered from cerebral arteriosclerosis at the time of her death from cardiac failure in Culver City, California, aged 82, on June 26, 1984.
Filmography
Filmography
• Hearts and Flowers (1919) • A Lady's Tailor (1919) • Salome vs. Shenandoah (1919) • Up in Alf's Place (1919) • His Last False Step (1919) • Down on the Farm (1920) • By Golly! (1920) • Married Life (1920) • One Week (1920) • Convict 13 (1920) • Movie Fans (1920) • Love, Honor and Behave (1920) • The Scarecrow (1920) (uncredited) • Bungalow Troubles (1920) • The Boat (1921) • A Sailor-Made Man (1921) • On Patrol (1922)
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Sybil Seely was recorded at birth as Sybil Travilla Furthman. The authorities additionally record the heading Sibye Trevilla. Her recorded language was English. She married Jules Furthman.

Roscoe Arbuckle and Buster Keaton playing dice while Sybil Seely looks on, on page 99 of the October 2, 1920 Exhibitors Herald.
Exhibitors Herald (Oct. - Dec. 1920) on the Internet Archive

Lobby card for the American comedy short film Convict 13 (1920).
Metro Pictures · ha.com
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1984
Sybil Seely died at Culver City.
Places
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Los Angeles.
Birth place
Culver City.
Death place
Literature
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Massa. Steve. Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy. BearManor Media. 30 de agosto de 2019.
- 2.551. 2013. 978-0-7864-7711-1.
- 3.silentera.com.
- 4.findagrave.com.
- 5.themoviedb.com.
- 6.themajestictheatre.com.au.
- 7.Primavera de 2015. 21 de julho de 2015.
- 8.dvdclassik.com. 23 de setembro de 2013.
- 9.Sybil Seely, Classic Video Streams; accessed January 18, 2019.
- 10.Death Certificate of Sybil Travilla Furthman, classicvideostreams.com; accessed January 5, 2017.
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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