Elizabeth Meehan

Elizabeth Meehan
Elizabeth Meehan, from a 1928 publication.
Born22 August 1894
Died24 April 1967 (1967-04-25) (aged 72)
Other namesBetty Meehan, Betty Williams, Elizabeth Meehan Williams
OccupationScreenwriter

Elizabeth Meehan (22 August 1894 – 24 April 1967) was a British screenwriter who worked in both Britain and Hollywood.

Early life

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Meehan was born on the Isle of Wight, and lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2]

Career

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As a young woman, Betty Meehan was a model, a professional swimmer,[2] and a chorus girl with the Ziegfeld Follies, in the same sextet of dancers as Billie Dove and Alta King. "Oh yes, I know that chorines have the reputation of being beautiful but dumb," she explained in a 1928 interview, "And, perhaps, some of them are. But you'd be surprised at the girls you'll find in the choruses."[3]

Meehan credited James M. Barrie with helping her transition into screenwriting.[4] During the late 1930s Meehan was employed by the studio head Walter C. Mycroft to work for British International Pictures.[5] Meehan frequently collaborated with the Irish director Herbert Brenon.

Later in her career, Meehan worked in television, writing episodes of Lux Video Theatre, Fireside Theatre, and Mama.

Personal life

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Meehan had a daughter, Frances Meehan Williams (1930-2006),[6] who became an actress and later a psychotherapist.[7][8] Elizabeth Meehan died in 1967, in New York, aged 72 years.[9] Her daughter donated some of her original scripts and screenplays to the Special Collections library at UCLA.[10]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Letters to 'Ye Ed'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 6 October 1935. p. 58. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b Jordan, Anne (8 January 1929). "Another Chorus Girl Makes Good". The Daily News. p. 2. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Cohn, Gene (14 December 1928). "Extra-Girl Writes Way to Fame". Bismarck Tribune. p. 29. Retrieved 23 August 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.
  4. ^ "From Chorus Girl to Script Writer". Star-Phoenix. 14 January 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Harper, Sue. Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. Continuum International, 2000. p. 184.
  6. ^ "Storybook Folk at Party". The Los Angeles Times. 21 July 1935. p. 51. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Starlets, Screenwriter Here For Movie Observance". LNP Always Lancaster. 9 October 1951. p. 24. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Frances Meehan". The Los Angeles Times. 1 September 2006. p. 140. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Elizabeth Meehan". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 27 April 1967. p. 27. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Finding Aid for the Elizabeth Meehan Papers, 1930-1955". UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Retrieved 24 August 2019.

Bibliography

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  • Harper, Sue. Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. Continuum International, 2000.
  • Low, Rachael. History of the British Film: Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
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