Eleanor Gates (26 September 1874 – 7 March 1951) was an American playwright who created seven plays that were staged on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Her best known work was the play ''The Poor Little Rich Girl'', which was produced by her husband in 1913 and went on to be made as films for

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

in 1917 and for

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

in 1936.

Biography

Eleanor Gates was born on 26 September 1874 in

Shakopee, Minnesota Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...

, southwest of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. While she was an infant her family moved to the Jim River Valley of South Dakota where they ran a cattle ranch. She later described her early life in her novel ''The Biography of a Prairie Girl''. Gates married another playwright,

Richard Walton Tully Richard Walton Tully (May 7, 1877 – February 1, 1945) was an American playwright. Biography Tully was born on May 7, 1877 in Nevada City, California. Tully was married to another playwright Eleanor Gates until he divorced her in 1914. His b ...

, in 1901 after they had both completed their studies at the University of California, in Berkeley. Gates had worked initially as a writer for a newspaper in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, as well as writing novels. In 1907, one of her novels was illustrated by

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

. Her best known work was the play ''

The Poor Little Rich Girl ''The Poor Little Rich Girl'' is a 1917 American comedy-drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur. Adapted by Frances Marion from the 1913 play by Eleanor Gates. The Broadway play actually starred future screen actress Viola Dana. The film stars ...

'', which was produced by her husband in 1913. Tully divorced her in 1914 citing desertion, which Gates admitted. Before Gates's divorce had been finalized, she married another divorcé, the novelist

Frederick Ferdinand Moore Frederick Ferdinand Moore (24 December 1881 – 16 January 1947) was an early 20th century American novelist, short story writer, editor, publisher, soldier and war correspondent. His first novel ''The Devil's Admiral'' was inspired by his exten ...

, in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the time they both said they intended to remarry when it could be arranged. Moore later created ''Book Dealers' Weekly'' (1925). At the beginning of 1915, Gates founded the ''Liberty Feature Film Company'', which was said by ''Motion Picture News'' to be the only film company to be owned and managed by women. The company was led by the wife of an Alaskan businessman, Sadir Lindblom. In the year that it existed, the company created several two reel films. The first film, produced in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

, was ''

'', which starred

starred in the 1936 remake of the same name. The film story, created to cash in on the talents of the eight-year-old Temple and the rights to the "changing places" story, was obtained for $40,000 to Gates and an additional $20,000 to Mary Pickford's company which had made the 1917 film. The new film had made two million dollars by the end of 1939. Gates was struck down near her home by an automobile and died on 7 March 1951 in

Los Angeles County General Hospital LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

Works

*''The Biography of a Prairie Girl'', 1902 *''The Plow-Woman'', 1906, adapted for 1917 film *''Good-night: (Buenas Noches)'', 1907 - illustrated by

*''The Poor Little Rich Girl'' (play in three acts), 1912 *''Doc'' - 1914 film *''Swat the Fly'', 1915 *''Apron-Strings'', 1917 *''Piggie'', 1919 *''

Cupid the Cowpuncher ''Cupid the Cowpuncher'' is a 1920 American comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and written by Edfrid A. Bingham. It is based on the 1907 novel ''Cupid: The Cow-Punch'' by Eleanor Gates. The film stars Will Rogers, Helene Chadwick, Andre ...

'', 1920 film based on her story *''The Rich Little Poor Boy'', 1922 *''Once to Every Man'', 1934 film - written with

George Waggner George Waggner (September 7, 1894 – December 11, 1984) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for producing and directing the 1941 film '' The Wolf Man''. For some unknown reason, Waggner sometimes configured his ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Eleanor 1874 births 1951 deaths People from Shakopee, Minnesota Writers from Los Angeles University of California, Berkeley alumni Stanford University alumni Writers from Minnesota Writers from New York (state) American women dramatists and playwrights