William Marien Conselman (July 10, 1896 – May 25, 1940) was an American
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
who also wrote newspaper
comic strips
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
under his Bill Conselman byline and sometimes under the pseudonym Frank Smiley.
Biography
Born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, Conselman arrived on the West Coast in 1920 and joined the staff of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' as the assistant city editor. His play ''And Then What'', staged by the San Diego Players, opened November 6, 1923 at Balboa Park's Yorick Theater.
Between 1921 and 1940, he was a screenwriter on more than 50 films. By 1936, he had an annual income of more than $60,000. In Hollywood, he often collaborated with writer
Jack Woodford. Conselman was also a lyricist, and in 1928, he directed the film ''Four A.M.''
Comic strips
With artist
Charles Plumb, Conselman created the syndicated comic strip ''
Ella Cinders
''Ella Cinders'' is an American syndicated comic strip created by writer Bill Conselman and artist Charles Plumb. Distributed for most of its run by United Feature Syndicate, the daily version was launched June 1, 1925, and a Sunday page foll ...
'' in 1925. Using his Frank Smiley pseudonym, he wrote the less successful ''
Good Time Guy
''Good Time Guy'' is a humorous syndicated comic strip that was distributed by Metropolitan Newspaper Service from June 27, 1927 to December 6, 1930.
It was begun by prolific screenwriter William Conselman under the pen name of Frank Smiley, an ...
'' with
Mel Cummin
Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to:
Biology
* Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL)
* National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL
People
* Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...
. The latter was drawn by animation pioneer
Dick Huemer
Richard Huemer (January 2, 1898 – November 30, 1979) was an American animator in the Golden Age of Animation.
Career
While as an artist-illustrator living in the Bronx, New York City, Huemer first began his career in animation at the Raoul ...
, who later spent four decades as a key talent at the
Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
.
In the summer of 1925, Max Elser, Jr., the president of New York's
Metropolitan Newspaper Service
Metropolitan Newspaper Service (MNS) was a syndication service based in New York City that operated from 1919 to 1932. At first the syndication service of '' Metropolitan Magazine'', it soon became affiliated with the Bell Syndicate, and then was a ...
, introduced ''Ella Cinders'' and Conselman to the readers of ''Cartoons & Movies'' magazine:
Ella Cinders derives her name from and is based on ''Cinderella''. The ''Cinderella'' motif is generally accepted in fiction, in the movies and in the legitimate drama as the most popular of all themes. This new strip of the Metropolitan was planned last summer by its originator, Conselman, formerly of the editorial staff of the ''Los Angeles Times''. The drawing is the work of Charlie Plumb, who was formerly on the ''Los Angeles Times''. The introductory strips were drawn last year.
Bill Conselman married Wilhelmina Rambo (who was known as Mina), and the couple lived in
Eagle Rock, California
Eagle Rock is a neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, abutting the San Rafael Hills in Los Angeles County, California.
Eagle Rock is named after Eagle Rock, a large boulder whose shadow resembles an eagle.http://www.eaglerockcouncil.org/index.p ...
at 4905 Lockhaven Street. In May 1941, their daughter Deirdre married famed tennis pro
Don Budge
John Donald Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female, and still the only American male — to win the Grand Slam, and to win all four Grand Slam ev ...
.
Conselman was 43 when he died of a liver ailment at his home after a three-month illness.
Selected filmography
* ''
Why Trust Your Husband?
''Why Trust Your Husband?'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Eileen Percy, Harry Myers and Harry Dunkinson.Solomon p.268
Cast
* Eileen Percy as Eunice Day
* Harry Myers as Elmer Day
* Ray Ripley as ...
'' (1921)
* ''
Why Get Married?'' (1924)
* ''
La Bohème
''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...
'' (1926)
* ''
Slaves of Beauty
''Slaves of Beauty'' is a 1927 American silent comedy drama film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Olive Tell, Holmes Herbert, Earle Foxe, Margaret Livingston, and future talent agent Sue Carol. The film was written by William M. Conse ...
'' (1927)
* ''
Pajamas
Pajamas (American English, US) or pyjamas (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth) (), sometimes colloquially shortened to PJs, jammies, jam-jams, or in South Asia night suits, are several related types of clothing worn as night ...
'' (1927)
* ''
News Parade
''News Parade'' is a 1928 American comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Nick Stuart, Sally Phipps and Brandon Hurst. The film portrays the adventures of a newsreel cameraman. Despite poor reviews and only a modest box office perf ...
'' (1928)
* ''
Whoopee!
''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...
'' (1930)
* ''
Six Cylinder Love'' (1931)
* ''
Heartbreak'' (1931)
* ''
Business and Pleasure
''Business and Pleasure'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by David Butler, starring Will Rogers and featuring Boris Karloff. '' (1932)
* ''
Young Sinners'' (1932)
* ''
Stepping Sisters '' (1932)
* ''
Young America'' (1932)
* ''
Frontier Marshal'' (1934)
* ''
Bright Eyes'' (1934)
* ''
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
'' (1934)
* ''
The Little Colonel'' (1935)
* ''
Pigskin Parade
''Pigskin Parade'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film which tells the story of husband-and-wife college football coaches who convince a backwoods player to play for their team so they can go to the big game. It was written by William M. Consel ...
'' (1936)
* ''
Private Number'' (1936)
* ''
Stowaway
A stowaway or clandestine traveller is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus.
Sometimes, the purpose is to get from one place to another without paying for transportation. In other cas ...
'' (1936)
* ''
On the Avenue
''On the Avenue'' is a 1937 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Alice Faye, George Barbier, and The Ritz Brothers. Many of the songs were composed by Irving Berlin. Many of the plot deta ...
'' (1937)
* ''That I May Live'' (1937)
* ''Fifty Roads to Town'' (1937)
* ''The Great Hospital Mystery'' (1937)
* ''
Keep Smiling'' (1938)
* ''
That's Right – You're Wrong'' (1939)
* ''
So This Is London'' (1939)
* ''East Side of Heaven'' (1939)
* ''Yesterday's Heroes'' (1940)
* ''
If I Had My Way
''If I Had My Way'' is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean. Based on a story by David Butler, the film is about a construction worker who takes charge of the daughter of a friend killed i ...
'' (1940)
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conselman, William M.
1896 births
1940 deaths
American comics writers
American male screenwriters
People from Brooklyn
Screenwriters from New York (state)
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters