| Ouida Bergère | |
|---|---|
Photoplay Magazine, Volume 18, Issues 2-6 July, 1920 |
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| Born | Eunie Branch December 14, 1886 Little Rock, Arkansas U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 1974 (aged 87) New York City, New York, U.S.A. |
| Occupation | Actor and Screenwriter |
| Spouse | Basil Rathbone |
| Children | Cynthia Rathbone |
Ouida Bergère (14 December 1886 – 29 November 1974) was an American screenwriter and actress.
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Her name was said to be Ouida DuGaze, the daughter of Stephen and Marion DuGaze. Her father was said to be Spanish, and her mother said to be of French and English ancestry. She was reportedly born on a railroad train en route to Madrid, Spain and raised in Europe before coming to America as a young girl. [1] In reality, she was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the daughter of Stephen W. and Ida Branch, both natives of Tennessee. 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. [2] 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. [3][4][5] 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. [6]
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. [7]
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 first 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. [8]
As well as the United States, Bergère also worked on films in England, France and Italy. While in Rome, she wrote a screenplay entitled The Eternal City (1923), based on the Hall Caine novel, directed by her husband George Fitzmaurice, and released by the Samuel Goldwyn Company. The film enlisted the assistance of the Fascists, and of Mussolini himself, with the help of the American ambassador in Rome. The film included a scene in which Mussolini appeared writing a letter and summoning a man to post it. Ten thousand real Blackshirts appeared in the Coliseum scenes for the film. [9][10]
After her marriage to the actor Basil Rathbone, (April 18, 1926) [11] Bergère gave up her film work to assist him in his work and in the management of his business affairs. Together they had one child, an adopted daughter named Cynthia Rathbone (1939–1969), and also raised Ouida's niece and namesake Ouida Branch, who married David Bruce Huxley, brother of Julian Huxley, Aldous Huxley, and Andrew Huxley [12]
Ouida Bergere died a few weeks shy of her 88th birthday at Roosevelt Hospital in New York from complications after falling and breaking her hip. She was survived by her younger brother, Bernice C. Branch. [13]