Mary Rider (sometimes credited as Mary Rider Mechtold) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and short story writer active primarily during the 1910s.[1] [2]

Mary Rider
Born
Mary Kirk Rider

November 20, 1876
Pekin, Illinois, USA
Other namesMary Rider Mechtold
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, playwright, journalist
Years active1907–1923
SpouseReuben Maynard

Biography

edit

Mary was born in Illinois to judge George Rider and his wife, Elizabeth Prettyman, in Pekin, Illinois. Later on, she attended the Chicago University.[3]

She began to write plays[4] as well as short stories[5] during the 1910s that appeared in publications like Sunset,[6] Metropolitan,[7] and Munsey's Magazine.[8] She also wrote for vaudeville before writing stories for the screen during Hollywood's silent era.[9] One of her earliest stories to hit the screen was 1914's The Mountain Rat.[10] Over the next few years, she would go on to write a dozen or so shorts and features.

She married Reuben Maynard in New York City in 1916. The couple had no children.

Selected filmography

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Dramatic Mirror of the Stage and Motion Pictures. Dramatic Mirror Company. 1917.
  2. ^ "Bronxville Review-Press 3 November 1938 — HRVH Historical Newspapers". news.hrvh.org. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  3. ^ "Women Playwrights and Authors". www.ahgp.org. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  4. ^ ""Baby Doll," a Premiere, Next Week's Feature". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 4 Aug 1910. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  5. ^ "The Story with Two Endings". The Washington Times. 23 May 1912. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  6. ^ Rider, Mary (27 Nov 1914). "President of the Great Unwashed". The Monroe Journal. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  7. ^ Metropolitan. Metropolitan magazine Company. 1914.
  8. ^ "25 Apr 1914, Page 8 - The Washington Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  9. ^ "7 Nov 1917, 9 - The Anaconda Standard at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  10. ^ "28 Aug 1914, Page 7 - Trenton Evening Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-01-10.