Ouida Bergère
| Ouida Bergère | |
|---|---|
Photoplay Magazine, Volume 18, Issues 2–6 July 1920
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| Born |
Eunie Branch December 14, 1886 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | November 29, 1974 (aged 87) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor and screenwriter |
| Spouse(s) | Louis Timothy Weadock(m. 1906) George Fitzmaurice Basil Rathbone (1926-1967) (his death) |
| Children | Cynthia Rathbone |
Ouida Bergère (born Eunie Branch; 14 December 1886 – 29 November 1974) was an American screenwriter and actress.
Eunie Branch was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Stephen W. and Ida Branch, both natives of Tennessee. Early years spent in Madrid, Paris and England. She came to the U. S. at eight years of age. Her father was a merchant who would later work as a railroad timekeeper. By the time of the taking of the 1900 Federal Census she was living with her brother's family in Searcy as Eunie Branch. Ten years later she's listed in the census with her parents in Little Rock as Eula Burgess. Her marital status then was recorded as divorced and occupation, actress. In January of that year she appeared as Ouida Bergère playing the stenographer in the play "Via Wireless" and was one of few cast members to receive positive reviews in the production.
Bergère began her career as an actress. Playwright Winchell Smith gave her her first role, but she eventually abandoned her stage career and turned her attention to writing. She wrote for the New York Herald and for various magazines, besides writing the stories (or 'scenarios') for silent film productions.
She wrote most of the stories for the films of Elsie Ferguson, and many for Mae Murray, including On With the Dance. She also wrote for Pola Negri, Corinne Griffith, Bert Lytell, and Betty Compson, many of which were directed by her second husband, George Fitzmaurice. In 1920 she wrote the screen version of Peter Ibbetson, starring Elsie Ferguson and Wallace Reid. During this time she met Basil Rathbone, who was playing the lead role in the stage production of the play, whom she eventually married in 1926.
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