Margery Wilson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margery Wilson
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Sara Barker Strayer
October 31, 1896 Gracey, Kentucky, USA
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| Died | January 21, 1986 (aged 89) Arcadia, California, USA
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| Spouse(s) | Otto Meeks Grover Paulette Williamson Vance Link Bushnell |
Margery Wilson (born Sara Barker Strayer) was an American actress, writer, and movie director. She was famous during the silent film era. She acted in 51 movies between 1914 and 1939.
Margery Wilson's Early Life and Education
Margery Wilson was born in Gracey, Kentucky. Her birth name was Sara Barker Strayer. She studied important subjects like philosophy and literature. She also worked to help people in her community.
When she was starting out, Margery performed in public. She sang and acted in clubs, schools, and churches in Cincinnati. Later, she traveled with a theater group called the John Lawrence Players. She was the main actress in their shows.
By the time she was 16, she had started her own theater company. She and her sister went on a world tour. They performed as musical entertainers. Margery changed her name when she was 16. This was because her family did not want their last name connected to acting.
Becoming a Film Star and Director
In 1914, Margery Wilson moved to Los Angeles. She wanted to work in Hollywood movies. She appeared in many different films. She is best known for playing a character named Brown Eyes. This was in the D.W. Griffith film Intolerance. She had about 36 acting roles, and many of them were lead parts.
Margery Wilson was also one of the first women to direct movies in Hollywood. Her career as a film writer, director, and producer was short. It lasted from 1920 to 1922. This time does not include when she toured with her films. She directed at least three movies: That Something (1920), The Offenders (1921), and Insinuation (1922). Sadly, there are no copies of her directed films left today. She stopped directing movies by her late twenties.
Life After Film
Margery Wilson had two children. Both of her children passed away before she did. She left the movie business to care for her children. This was after she married Otto Meeks. He owned a very large ranching business.
After Otto Meeks died, she married Grover Paulette Williamson. Her third husband, Vance Link Bushnell, died in 1947. Even though she no longer made movies, she stayed connected to the film world. She wrote small books about famous people. Because she knew many people in Hollywood, she was able to write 50 of these books.
Books and Public Speaking
In an interview in 1982, Margery Wilson said she did not want to be called a feminist. However, many people who studied her work saw her as someone who supported women's rights.
She wrote helpful books that gave advice to husbands. These books taught them how to protect and treat their wives well. In 1951, her book How to Make the Most of Wife was published. These books were also seen as inspiring non-fiction. Her own life story, called I Found My Way, came out in 1956. Margery also wrote several inspiring self-help books for women. These included Charm and The Woman You Want to Be.
After her career as a filmmaker, she became a successful speech coach for actors. She also gave public talks both on the radio and in person.
See also
In Spanish: Margery Wilson para niños
