Elizabeth Mary "Bessie" Beatty (January 27, 1886 – April 6, 1947) was an American journalist, editor, playwright, and radio host.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Mary "Bessie" Beatty was born and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, one of four children of Thomas and Jane Boxwell Beatty, both immigrants from Ireland. As a child in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, she staged a children's show to raise money for the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

, casting her siblings in some of the roles. She attended Occidental College, but did not graduate.

Career

Her first job in journalism was with the '' Los Angeles Herald'', while she was still in college. She had a regular column at the ''

San Francisco Bulletin The ''San Francisco Evening Bulletin'' was a newspaper in San Francisco, founded as the ''Daily Evening Bulletin'' in 1855 by James King of William. King used the newspaper to crusade against political corruption, and built it into having the highe ...

'' from 1907 to 1917, called "On the Margin." While on assignment covering a miners' strike in Nevada, she wrote and published ''Who's Who in Nevada'', a biographical dictionary. Beatty accompanied fellow journalists Rheta Childe Dorr, Albert Rhys Williams,

Louise Bryant Louise Bryant (December 5, 1885 – January 6, 1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist best known for her sympathetic coverage of Russia and the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution of November 1917. Born Anna ...

and John Reed on a trip to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in 1917. There she interviewed

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

, and members of the

Women's Battalion Women's Battalions (Russia) were all-female combat units formed after the February Revolution by the Russian Provisional Government, in a last-ditch effort to inspire the mass of war-weary soldiers to continue fighting in World War I. In the spri ...

, whose courage and strength impressed her. Her book about that trip, ''The Red Heart of Russia'', was published in 1918. "I had been alive at a great moment, and knew it was great," she wrote of her time in Russia. Beatty worked as a freelance journalist for much of her career. She was editor of '' McCall's Magazine'' from 1918 to 1921. She was American Secretary of the International P. E. N. Club. In 1932 a play she co-wrote with novelist Jack Black, ''Jamboree'', was produced briefly 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 ...

. From 1940 until her death, she hosted a popular radio show in

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; her on-air persona was once referred to as "Mrs. Know-it-all" in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

she used her show to sell over $300,000 in war bonds, and was recognized by the Women's International Exposition of Arts and Industries with their annual radio award in 1943. As an activist, she was a member of the feminist group Heterodoxy. She wrote "A Political Primer for the New Voter" (1912), a pamphlet designed for California women newly exercising the right of suffrage. In 1919 she gave testimony at a Senate hearing on "Bolshevik Propaganda."

Personal life

Beatty married actor William Sauter in 1926. The lived in Los Angeles, and later in New York City. Their wire-haired terriers, Biddy and Terry, were frequently mentioned on Miss Beatty's radio program, and even received fan mail. Beatty died suddenly by heart attack in April 1947, age 61. There was a tribute program aired the day after her death.Bessie Beatty memorial program, broadcast April 7, 1947 (Washington DC: Library of Congress Magnetic Recording Laboratory 2002).
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References

External links

''Who's who in Nevada : Brief sketches of men who are making history in the Sagebrush state''
(1907)
''A political primer for the new voter''
(1912)
''The Red Heart of Russia''
(1918) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatty, Bessie 1886 births 1947 deaths American magazine editors American women journalists Writers from Los Angeles Women magazine editors