Frances Hyland | |
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Born | Frances Christine Moore September 19, 1903 Stuttgart, Arkansas, US |
Occupation | Screenwriter |
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Frances Hyland (born Frances Christine Moore, September 19, 1903; date of death unknown) was an American screenwriter active between the late 1920s and the late 1940s. She was the first woman hired as a "gagman" at a film studio, and she wrote dozens of comedic scripts over the course of her career. [1]
Hyland was born in Stuttgart, Arkansas on September 19, 1903, the daughter of William Carol Moore and Aura Lee Dickey. [2] Her father was the editor of the local newspaper; he would later move to California and edit The Hueneme Harbor Bulletin. [3]
In 1926, she became the first woman to be hired by Universal as a "gagman" (comedy writer). [4] She later worked for Tiffany Pictures. [5] She continued to work steadily throughout the 1930s and 1940s, producing scripts for well-received films like The Sin of Nora Moran , A Shriek in the Night , and In Old California .
She was married to filmmaker Albert Ray until his death and had 2 sons. [6] Her date of death and final resting place are unknown.