Cathrine Curtis (1889 - 1955) was an American actress, film producer, investor, and radio personality. She was one of the first female film producers and was also a political organizer noted for her

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

views.

Early life

Curtis was born in Albany, New York, attended boarding school in a suburb of New York and graduated from St. Agnes High School in Albany. She attended New York University but left before graduating.

Career

Curtis owned and operated a ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. She began investing in stocks at the age of 15. In Phoenix, one of her neighbors was the novelist

Harold Bell Wright Harold Bell Wright (May 4, 1872 – May 24, 1944) was a best-selling American writer of fiction, essays, and nonfiction. Although mostly forgotten or ignored after the middle of the 20th century, he had a very successful career; he is said to hav ...

, who invited her to Hollywood to play a role in his film, '' The Shepherd of the Hills''.

Hollywood career

While working on the film, she decided that she wanted to become a producer that she would stay in Los Angeles. Her first credit as a producer was on

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

's 1921 silent film ''

The Sky Pilot ''The Sky Pilot'' is a 1921 American silent drama film based on the novel of the same name by Ralph Connor. It is directed by King Vidor and features Colleen Moore. In February 2020, the film was shown in a newly restored version at the 70th B ...

''. She planned an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's ''The Lost World'' (ultimately released in 1925), but legal wrangling ensued over rights. She was noted as one of the only film producers of her day and was notable for being the first woman in that position. Curtis ran her own production company, The Cathrine Curtis Pictures Corporation. Created in 1919, the company had offices in New York City and Los Angeles. She seems to have lost interest after she married her husband, Joseph O'Neill, but continued making advertorial films through the end of the decade.

Political leanings

After moving back to New York City after the stock market crash, she continued investing and became a radio personality, producing a twice-weekly show, ''Women and Money'', for

WMCA WMCA may refer to: *WMCA (AM), a radio station operating in New York City * West Midlands Combined Authority, the combined authority of the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom *Wikimedia Canada The Wikimedia Foundation, ...

, in which she began espousing a brand of feminism centered on women's financial independence. Her criticism of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

eventually led to cancelation of the program. Curtis was also a far-right activist and organizer known for her anticommunist, antisemitism, and isolationist views. She created a number of committees and organizations in her day, including the National Legion of Mothers of America and the Women's National Committee to Keep the U.S. Out of War. Her criticism of the New Deal and her lobbying on behalf of women investors led her to create the Women Investors Research Institute, a non-profit organization that grew to 300,000 members in 1939.

Personal life

Curtis was married several times; her husbands included lawyer Joseph O'Neil (divorced 1929) and Perit Coit Myers Jr. Myers and Curtis had a daughter, Gretchen, together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Cathrine 1889 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film producers American radio personalities Actors from Albany, New York American anti-war activists American feminists New York University alumni American anti-communists Old Right (United States) Activists from New York (state)