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Becky Gardiner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Becky Gardiner
In The Film Daily Year Book 1928
Born
Rebeckah McCormick McLean

(1886-04-24)April 24, 1886
Maryland, US
EducationBrearley School
Sorbonne University
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, actress
Spouses
John D. W. Gardiner
(m. 1909; died 1936)
Thomas H. Gillespie
(m. 1949)
Parent(s)Donald McLean (father)
Emily Nelson Ritchie McLean (mother)
RelativesAlbert Ritchie (cousin)

Becky Gardiner (born Rebeckah McCormick McLean; April 24, 1886; year of death unknown) was an American screenwriter and actress active in the 1920s and 1930s. She was noted for writing screenplays that focused on women.[1]

Biography

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Gardiner was born into a prominent Maryland family; her father, Donald McLean, was a lawyer, and his wife, Emily Nelson Ritchie, was related to Maryland Gov. Albert Ritchie.[2][3] On June 12, 1909,[4] she married writer John D. W. Gardiner; they had one daughter, Emily, who became an author as well.[5]

John died in 1936, and she remarried to Thomas H. Gillespie on March 16, 1949.[6][7]

Gardiner got her start as an actress in New York City, performing in small roles in the early 1910s under the name Becky Bruce.[8][9][10] She turned her attention to writing in the 1920s, studying in Paris at the Sorbonne and writing a column called "Footlights and Studio Lamps" for The Evening Sun; she eventually went under contract at Famous Players–Lasky, where she was the only woman on the East Coast writing staff.[5][11] She also worked at Fox and Paramount.[8]

Films for which Gardiner wrote adaptations included Sea Horses (1926) and Padlocked (1926).[12] She also wrote the scenario for War Nurse (1930).[13]

Her date of death is unknown.

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Nelmes, Jill (October 4, 2010). Analysing the Screenplay. Routledge. ISBN 9781136912450.
  2. ^ "Snapshots of the Gay World in All Centers". The Washington Post. January 30, 1914. p. 7. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Vivacious Visitor in Cinema Circles". Los Angeles Times. April 10, 1927. p. 50. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Becomes a Soldier's Bride". The Tennessean. Tennessee, Nashville. June 13, 1909. p. 16. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Maryland Girl Wins Fame as Script Writer". The Baltimore Sun. New York. February 28, 1926. pp. 85, 88. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Deaths: Gardiner". The Baltimore Sun. February 13, 1936. p. 17. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Weddings: Gillespie-Gardiner". The News. Frederick, Maryland. April 2, 1949. p. 5. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "Eventful Career for Scenarist". Calgary Herald. March 17, 1927. p. 6. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Charming 'Prunella' at Little Theater". Brooklyn Eagle. October 27, 1913. p. 7. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Darnton, Charles (November 8, 1913). Written at New York. "The New Plays". Arkansas Gazette. Little Rock (published November 9, 1913). p. 41. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Parsons, Louella O. (October 29, 1926). "Actress Loves Work; Refuses to Fete Queen". Tampa Bay Times. New York (published October 30, 1926). p. 34. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Lombardi, Frederic (2013). Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios. McFarland. p. 337. ISBN 9780786490400. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  13. ^ Villecco, Tony (2015). Silent Stars Speak: Interviews with Twelve Cinema Pioneers. McFarland. p. 144. ISBN 9780786482092. Retrieved March 16, 2019.