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Mary O'Hara (author)
Encyclopedia
Mary O'Hara Alsop was an American author and screenwriter
.
Mary O'Hara Alsop was born July 10, 1885 in Cape May Point, New Jersey
, the third child of Reverend Dr. Reese Fell Alsop and Mary Lee Spring. O'Hara, who was named after her maternal grandmother, Mary O'Hara Spring (née Denny), grew up in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Her siblings included an older sister, the writer Gulielma ("Elma") Fell; an older brother, Reese; and a younger sister, Elizabeth ("Bess"). She was a descendant of William Penn
.
She married her third cousin, Kent Kane Parrot
, in 1905 against her father's wishes. They had a daughter, O'Hara Parrot, born in 1908, who died of skin cancer in her early teens, and a son, Kay (Ken) Parrot (born in 1910).
Following the end of her marriage to Parrot, Mary O'Hara worked as a Hollywood screenwriter
during the silent film era. Her screenwriting credits included the movies The Last Card (1921), The Prisoner of Zenda
(1922), Braveheart (1925), and Framed (1927).
In 1922 she married Helge Sture-Vasa, a Swede who had experience working horses in the U.S. Army's remount service, and they moved to Wyoming
. In 1930 the couple bought a ranch which had been established in 1886 in Laramie County
, between Laramie
and Cheyenne
. They renamed it Remount Ranch, and stocked the ranch with sheep, which were at that time a profitable endeavor. The Great Depression
wrecked the sheep market and any hope for profits for O'Hara and her husband. To make ends meet, they eked out a living delivering milk in Cheyenne and breeding horses. Subsequently, O'Hara ran a summer camp for boys on holiday from Eastern prep schools
.
Yet it was her typewriter, not livestock, that proved most profitable for O'Hara. With the rugged Remount as a backdrop, she began writing Wyoming ranch stories. Her best-known and loved works were written at this time: My Friend Flicka
(1941), Thunderhead (1943), and Green Grass of Wyoming (1946).
O'Hara and her husband sold the Remount in 1946 and purchased a ranch in California. The following year Mary O'Hara divorced her second husband, and returned alone to the Eastern U.S., settling in Monroe, Connecticut
, where she continued to write fiction and non-fiction.
Mary O'Hara was also an accomplished pianist and composer. She composed a folk musical, "The Catch Colt", which was performed in 1961 at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and at the Lincoln Theatre in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The musical was published in 1964. Two years later, O'Hara published her account of writing, composing and producing the musical, "A Musical in the Making".
Her other piano compositions included "Esperan" (1943), "Green Grass of Wyoming" (1946), "May God Keep You" (1946), and "Wind Harp" (1954).
In 1968, she moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland
, where she lived until her death on October 14, 1980 at the age of 95 of arteriosclerosis
.
]
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
Biography
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the third child of Reverend Dr. Reese Fell Alsop and Mary Lee Spring. O'Hara, who was named after her maternal grandmother, Mary O'Hara Spring (née Denny), grew up in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Her siblings included an older sister, the writer Gulielma ("Elma") Fell; an older brother, Reese; and a younger sister, Elizabeth ("Bess"). She was a descendant of William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
.
She married her third cousin, Kent Kane Parrot
Kent Kane Parrot
Kent Kane Parrot was an American political figure and attorney who was considered the "boss" of municipal politics in Los Angeles, California, in the 1920s.Kent Kane Parrot Kent Kane Parrot (c. 1882 - March 11, 1956) was an American political figure and attorney who was considered the "boss" of...
, in 1905 against her father's wishes. They had a daughter, O'Hara Parrot, born in 1908, who died of skin cancer in her early teens, and a son, Kay (Ken) Parrot (born in 1910).
Following the end of her marriage to Parrot, Mary O'Hara worked as a Hollywood screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
during the silent film era. Her screenwriting credits included the movies The Last Card (1921), The Prisoner of Zenda
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922 film)
The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1922 silent adventure film, one of the many adaptations of Anthony Hope's popular 1894 novel of the same name and the subsequent 1896 play by Hope and Edward Rose.-Plot:...
(1922), Braveheart (1925), and Framed (1927).
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. In 1930 the couple bought a ranch which had been established in 1886 in Laramie County
Laramie County, Wyoming
Laramie County is the most populous of the 23 counties of the U.S. state of Wyoming. The county is located in the southeastern corner of the state. The county's population was 91,738 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Cheyenne, the state capital...
, between Laramie
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
and Cheyenne
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
. They renamed it Remount Ranch, and stocked the ranch with sheep, which were at that time a profitable endeavor. The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
wrecked the sheep market and any hope for profits for O'Hara and her husband. To make ends meet, they eked out a living delivering milk in Cheyenne and breeding horses. Subsequently, O'Hara ran a summer camp for boys on holiday from Eastern prep schools
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
.
Yet it was her typewriter, not livestock, that proved most profitable for O'Hara. With the rugged Remount as a backdrop, she began writing Wyoming ranch stories. Her best-known and loved works were written at this time: My Friend Flicka
My Friend Flicka
My Friend Flicka is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead and Green Grass of Wyoming . The popular 1943 film version featured a young Roddy McDowall...
(1941), Thunderhead (1943), and Green Grass of Wyoming (1946).
O'Hara and her husband sold the Remount in 1946 and purchased a ranch in California. The following year Mary O'Hara divorced her second husband, and returned alone to the Eastern U.S., settling in Monroe, Connecticut
Monroe, Connecticut
Monroe is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,479 at the 2010 census. The current first selectman is Steve Vavrek....
, where she continued to write fiction and non-fiction.
Mary O'Hara was also an accomplished pianist and composer. She composed a folk musical, "The Catch Colt", which was performed in 1961 at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and at the Lincoln Theatre in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The musical was published in 1964. Two years later, O'Hara published her account of writing, composing and producing the musical, "A Musical in the Making".
Her other piano compositions included "Esperan" (1943), "Green Grass of Wyoming" (1946), "May God Keep You" (1946), and "Wind Harp" (1954).
In 1968, she moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland. In addition, a number of villages in the same area of Montgomery County include "Chevy Chase" in their names...
, where she lived until her death on October 14, 1980 at the age of 95 of arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
.
Books
- Let Us Say Grace (1930)
- My Friend FlickaMy Friend FlickaMy Friend Flicka is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead and Green Grass of Wyoming . The popular 1943 film version featured a young Roddy McDowall...
(1941) - Thunderhead (1943)
- Green Grass of Wyoming (1946)
- The Son of Adam Wyngate (1952)
- Novel-in-the-Making (1954)
- Wyoming Summer (1963); based on O'Hara's diary
- A Musical in the Making (1966); O'Hara's account of writing, composing and producing the musical, "The Catch Colt"
- Flicka's Friend (1982); O'Hara's autobiography, published posthumously
Sources
- Biography of Mary O'Hara from Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
Libraries, Special Collections - http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/7255/Mary_OHara/index.aspx
External links
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