Volume III: Biographies

HUDSON, Virginia Tyler

Scenario writer (1915-1916)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Virginia Tyler Hudson wrote scenarios for Thanhouser in 1915 and 1916.

Biographical Notes: Virginia Tyler Hudson was born in Gratz, Kentucky. After graduating from Wesleyan College, she became a newspaper writer and worked with the Louisville Courier-Journal (under Col. Watterson), "all New York dailies" (according to a 1918 directory account), The Boston Journal, Kansas City Star, and The Chicago Tribune. Another account gave her successive addresses as Chicago (where she worked with the McCutcheons, George Ade, and Eugene Field), New York City, then Boston. She was a press representative for the Shuberts and William A. Brady. From time to time she was active in politics, including the respective presidential campaigns of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Going into show business, she became a press agent for William A. Brady's stage productions and also worked with Shubert plays.

Virginia Tyler Hudson wrote the scenario for various 1915 and 1916 Thanhouser films, including Inspiration. Various 1917-1919 editions of the Motion Picture News Studio Directory state that she wrote the scenario for a Thanhouser film titled Spirit of '76, but no Thanhouser picture of that name has been located in the present study (the Continental Producing Company, an unrelated firm, issued a film with this title on a states rights basis in April 1917; Thanhouser released a film titled Spirit of '61 on May 4, 1916, from a scenario by Emmet Mixx).

Variety, July 28, 1916, carried this item: "Virginia Hudson, a former special writer on the New York dailies, and lately of the Thanhouser scenario department, has joined the scenario forces of the Fox Film Corporation." For Fox she wrote the scenario of The Darling of Paris. In 1917-1919 her home address was 360 West 15th Street, New York City, and her agent in 1918 was J. Allen Boone in the same city.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1915: Inspiration (11-18-1915)

1916: The Reunion (2-23-1916), The Cruise of Fate (3-8-1916), The Flight of the Duchess (3-11-1916)

# # #