Edith Kennedy (1880-1963), often credited as Edith M. Kennedy, was an American writer and screenwriter active during the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

Biography

Beginnings

Edith May Kennedy was born in to Frederick Kennedy and Clara Lane in Auburn, New York. The family moved several times during Edith's childhood, eventually heading west and settling in Pasadena, California, where Edith began her career as a writer.

Career

Edith wrote short stories before turning her attentions to Hollywood. After moving to Pasadena in 1915, she began writing film scenarios and found her work in high demand. She penned dozens of scripts between 1917 and 1924 at Lasky Studios, working with directors like

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

and Walter Edwards and often writing for

Constance Talmadge Constance Alice Talmadge (April 19, 1898 – November 23, 1973) was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge. Early life Talmadge was born on April 19, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, to poor par ...

Personal life

She married New York–based composer Albert D. Jewett in 1921, and from there, went under contract at MGM. The pair later divorced. Her sister

Clara Genevieve Kennedy Clara Genevieve Kennedy was an American screenwriter and author active during Hollywood's silent era. She wrote most of her scripts for Paramount. Biography Clara was born in Monteagle, Tennessee, to Frederick Kennedy and Clara Lane. Her siste ...

also worked briefly as a scenario writer, penning eight scripts between 1918 and 1921. Edith died on November 8, 1963, in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

Filmography

* '' Pal o' Mine'' (1924) * ''

Youth to Youth ''Youth to Youth'' is a 1922 American silent melodrama film directed by Emile Chautard and starring Billie Dove, Edythe Chapman, and Hardee Kirkland. It was released on October 16, 1922. Cast * Billie Dove as Eve Allinson * Edythe Chapman as M ...

'' (1922) * ''

Seeing's Believing ''Seeing's Believing'' is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Viola Dana, Allan Forrest, and Gertrude Astor.Parish & Pitts p. 22. Plot As described in a film magazine, Diana Webster (Dana), a willful youn ...

'' (1922) * '' Glass Houses'' (1922) * '' Fourteenth Lover'' (1922) * ''

Don't Call Me Little Girl ''Don't Call Me Little Girl'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was adapted by Edith Kennedy from the stage play "Jerry" by Catherine Chisholm Cushing. As with many of Minter's f ...

'' (1921) * ''

Her First Elopement ''Her First Elopement'' is a 1920 American drama film directed by Sam Wood and written by Edith M. Kennedy. It is based on the 1915 novel ''Her First Elopement'' by Alice Duer Miller. The film stars Wanda Hawley, Jerome Patrick, Nell Craig, Luc ...

'' (1920) * ''

Oh, Lady, Lady ''Oh, Lady, Lady'' is a lost 1920 American silent comedy romance film directed by Major Maurice Campbell and starring Bebe Daniels. It is based on a popular 1918 Broadway stage musical, '' Oh, Lady! Lady!!'' Maurice Campbell was the husband of ...

'' (1920) * ''

Food for Scandal ''Food for Scandal'' is a 1920 American comedy drama film directed by James Cruze and written by Edith Kennedy. The film stars Wanda Hawley, Harrison Ford, Ethel Grey Terry, Margaret McWade, Minnie Devereaux, and Juan de la Cruz. The film was rel ...

'' (1920) * ''

Crooked Streets ''Crooked Streets'' is a 1920 American silent drama spy film directed by Paul Powell and produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is one of star Ethel Clayton's rare surviving silent films with a copy at the L ...

'' (1920) * '' The Ladder of Lies'' (1920) * ''

Young Mrs. Winthrop ''Young Mrs. Winthrop'' is a lost 1920 American silent drama film starring Ethel Clayton. It is based on the 1882 Victorian era Broadway play by Bronson Howard. The film was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictur ...

'' (1920) * ''

All of a Sudden Peggy ''All of a Sudden Peggy'' is a lost 1920 American silent comedy romance film directed by Walter Edwards and starring Marguerite Clark and Jack Mulhall. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based ...

'' (1920) * '' His Official Fiancée'' (1919) * ''

The Third Kiss ''The Third Kiss'' ( es, El tercer beso) is a 1942 Argentine romantic drama film directed by Luis César Amadori and starring Pedro López Lagar, Silvia Legrand and Amelia Bence. At the 1943 Argentine Film Critics Association Awards, Amelia ...

'' (1919) * ''

The Home Town Girl ''The Home Town Girl'' is a 1919 American silent film, silent comedy film directed by Robert G. Vignola, written by Oscar Graeve and Edith Kennedy, and starring Vivian Martin, Ralph Graves, Lee Phelps, Carmen Phillips, Stanhope Wheatcroft, and He ...

'' (1919) * ''

Rustling a Bride ''Rustling A Bride'' is a lost film, lost 1919 silent film comedy-Western directed by Irvin Willat and starring Lila Lee. Plot As described in a film magazine, cowboy Nick McCredie (Blue) discovers the name and address of a Kentucky girl on th ...

'' (1919) * ''

Romance and Arabella ''Romance and Arabella'' is a 1919 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Walter Edwards and starring Constance Talmadge, Harrison Ford, and Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an Ame ...

'' (1919) * '' Jane Goes a' Wooing'' (1919) * ''

The Way of a Man with a Maid ''The Way of a Man with a Maid'' is an anonymous, sadomasochistic,Clifford J. Scheiner (1996), ''The Essential Guide to Erotic Literature, Part One: Before 1920''. Ware, Wordsworth: 326-9 erotic novel, probably first published in 1908. The stor ...

'' (1918) * ''

Mirandy Smiles ''Mirandy Smiles'' is a 1918 American silent film, silent drama film directed by William C. deMille and written by Edith Kennedy based upon a short story by Belle K. Maniates. The film stars Vivian Martin, Douglas MacLean, William Freeman, and Fra ...

'' (1918) * ''

Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots ''Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots'' is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by Walter Edwards and starring Constance Talmadge, Harrison Ford and George Fisher.Goble p.877 Cast * Constance Talmadge as Mrs. Leffingwell * Harrison Ford as Mr. Lef ...

'' (1918) * ''

Her Country First ''Her Country First'' is a 1918 American comedy silent film directed by James Young and written by Edith Kennedy and Mary Roberts Rinehart. The film stars Vivian Martin, John Cossar, Florence Oberle, J. Parks Jones, Larry Steers, and Bernadine Zu ...

'' (1918) * ''

The Cruise of the Make-Believes ''The Cruise of the Make-Believes'' is a lost 1918 American silent dramatic feature film starring Lila Lee in her first motion picture. It was directed by George Melford and is based on a 1907 novel by Tom Gallon. Famous Players-Lasky produced and ...

'' (1918) * ''

A Pair of Silk Stockings "A Pair of Silk Stockings" is an 1897 short story written by Kate Chopin. The story follows Mrs. Sommers who prefers spending a windfall on herself, rather than on her children. Plot summary Mrs. Sommers comes into the small fortune of $15. Aft ...

'' (1918) * ''

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

'' (1918) * ''

The Bravest Way ''The Bravest Way'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and written by Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Tsuru Aoki, Yukio Aoyama, Jane Wolfe, and Winter Hall. The film was released on ...

s'' (1918) * ''

The Fair Barbarian ''The Fair Barbarian'' is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Thornby and written by Edith M. Kennedy, based on an 1881 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film stars Vivian Martin, Clarence Geldart, Douglas MacLean, Jane Wol ...

'' (1917) * ''

Molly Entangled ''Molly Entangled'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Robert Thornby and written by Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars Vivian Martin, Harrison Ford, Noah Beery, Sr., G.S. Spaulding, Helen Dunbar, and Gibson Gowland. The film was rel ...

'' (1917) * ''

Bond of Fear ''Bond of Fear'' is a 1956 British crime drama film directed by Henry Cass and starring Dermot Walsh, Jane Barrett, and John Colicos. Premise John Sewell and his family are taken hostage by a desperate fugitive called Dewar who is a stowaway i ...

'' (1917) * ''

Giving Becky a Chance ''Giving Becky a Chance'' is a 1917 American drama silent film directed by Howard Estabrook, and written by Lois Zellner and Edith Kennedy. The film stars Vivian Martin, Jack Holt, Jack Richardson, Pietro Sosso and Alice Knowland. The film was r ...

'' (1917) * ''

The Marcellini Millions ''The Marcellini Millions'' is a 1917 American drama silent film directed by Donald Crisp and written by George Beban and Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars George Beban, Helen Jerome Eddy, Pietro Sosso, Henry Woodward, Fred Huntley and Mae Gaston. ...

'' (1917)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Edith American women screenwriters Screenwriters from New York (state) 1880 births Year of death unknown People from Auburn, New York 1963 deaths 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American screenwriters