Margaret Mayo, born Lillian Elizabeth Slatten, was an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

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. ...

Early life

She was raised on a farm near Brownsville, Illinois. Later, she was educated at the Girl’s College in Fox Lake, Wisconsin; the Convent of the Sacred Heart in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary bet ...

; and at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

. In her teen years, she traveled to

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to pursue an acting career. She worked as many things: adapter, actress, film company founding partner, playwright, and a writer. In 1901, she married

Edgar Selwyn Edgar Selwyn (October 20, 1875 – February 13, 1944) was a prominent figure in American theatre and film in the first half of the 20th century. An actor, playwright, director and producer on Broadway, he founded a theatrical production ...

, a fellow actor. Until about 1917, Mayo averaged about a play per year.

Biography

When she moved to New York City in her early teens, she won a small part in a play named ''Thoroughbred'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

. She met her husband,

, in 1896. The same year, she began her writing career. Her earliest successes were adaptations of novels: '' The Marriage of William Ashe'' (1905) and ''The Jungle'' (1907). However, Mayo is best remembered as the author of more original plays such as ''Polly of the Circus'' (1907), '' Baby Mine'' (1910), '' Twin Beds'' (1914), and ''Seeing Things'' (1920), written with Aubrey Kennedy. She adapted several of her plays for the silent screen. Her play ''

Polly of the Circus ''Polly of the Circus'' may refer to: * ''Polly of the Circus'' (1907 play), written by Margaret Mayo, or its two screen adaptations: ** ''Polly of the Circus'' (1917 film), featuring Mae Marsh and Vernon Steele ** ''Polly of the Circus'' (1932 ...

'' became the first film produced in 1917 by the Goldwyn Company, of which she was a founding member.

Career

One of her most famous plays was called ''Baby Mine''. Her other works include ''Commencement Days'', ''Crippled Hearts'', and ''Twin Beds''. Her work utilized parody and satire to talk about social issues. In 1917, Mayo became head of the scenario department of Goldwyn Pictures. After a year, she left to go overseas and entertain the troops. In 1919, Mayo and Selwyn got divorced. Afterward, Mayo changed her name to Elizabeth Mayo and moved to New York to live with her mother. In 1926, she signed the Agreement of American Dramatists, a document that led to the foundation of the Dramatists Guild. She also began selling real estate. As she got older, she began to write about the spiritual world. Mayo was instrumental in making housing arrangements for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n spiritual teacher

Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of ...

at Harmon, near

, during his first visit to America in 1931. She owned and provided the stone house retreat where he stayed on this trip.''Lord Meher'', by Bhau Kalchuri, Manifestation Inc., 1986. p. 1466

Death

Margaret Mayo died on February 25, 1951, in the Ossining Hospital just north of

Sing Sing Prison Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

. She was attended by a nurse from the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor also in

Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: *Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossin ...

. The American actress and playwright and screenwriter is buried in St. Francis of Assisi Cemetery in

Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,959 at the 2020 United States census over 10,877 at the 2010 census. It serves as a ...

References

External links

* * * *
Margaret Mayo
at the Women Film Pioneers Project
Margaret Mayo papers, 1882–1970 (bulk 1901–1950)
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

* two photos of Margaret Mayo,
photo #1
.
photo #2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Margaret 1882 births 1951 deaths American stage actresses 19th-century American actresses American women screenwriters 20th-century American actresses American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers People from White County, Illinois Actresses from Illinois Women film pioneers Screenwriters from Illinois 20th-century American screenwriters