Storey was born on March 18, 1892, in New York City to William Chase Storey and Minnie Storey (née Thorn). Her younger brother, Richard, also had a brief but celebrated acting career.[2][3][4][a]
Storey began acting when she was a child. Her film career began with the film Francesca di Rimini (1908), also called The Two Brothers. She would have two film roles in 1908, and a total of seventy-five by 1913. Many of these films were Westerns, as Storey was reportedly an excellent horseback rider and could perform her own stunts.[5] Nicknamed Billy at the Star Film Ranch in Texas, she earned the good will of the seasoned cowboys in the Méliès film company for her ability to "ride anything with hair on it".[6]
Storey in a still for When the Tables Turned, 1911Storey (right) in Bobby and His Pal (1911), shot in San Antonio, Texas, and rediscovered in New Zealand in 2010. It is one of only five surviving films from the Star Film Ranch.[7]
Storey was noted for taking on male impersonation roles, such as Lillian/Lawrence in A Florida Enchantment (1914), and was compared to Vesta Tilley. She also referred to herself as 'Billy'.[13]
She would appear in another seventy-one films from 1913 to 1921, almost all of which were what are considered film shorts. In 1921, aged 29, she retired. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in the film industry at 1523 Vine Street.[1]
She was residing in neighboring Northport at the time of her death on October 9, 1967, aged 75. She was cremated at Fresh Pond Crematory D.B.A. U.S. Columbarium co. on October 13, 1967.[citation needed]
^In addition to being "placed at the head of the list of child actors" by reviewer/aviator/soon-to-be screenwriter Harriet Quimby in the November 15, 1906, issue of Leslie's Weekly, the then recently turned 10-year-old "Dick Storey" was also deemed "one of the cleverest of boy actors on the stage" and "one of the very few children capable of playing character roles."[4]
^"State Convention of Firemen Opens; Secrets of the Movies Revealed". Boston Daily Globe. September 23, 1920. p. 12. ProQuest963289463. Richard Storey is a brother of Edith Storey, both noted as early film stars, and is now a director.
