Abbie Jean MacPherson (May 18, 1886 – August 26, 1946) was an American silent actress, writer and director. She is known for her collaborations with directors D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Early life Abbie Jean MacPherson was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a wealthy family of European (Spanish, Scottish and French) descent. Her parents were John S. MacPherson and Evangeline C. Tomlinson. As a teenager, she was sent to Mademoiselle DeJacque's school in Paris, but returned to the United States when her family could no longer afford the fees.

MacPherson earned a degree from the Kenwood Institute in Chicago and began working as a dancer and stage performer. MacPherson began her theatrical career as part of the chorus in the Chicago Opera House. Over the next few years, she took singing lessons and worked several theater-related jobs.

Film career MacPherson made her film debut in the 1908 film The Fatal Hour, directed by D. W. Griffith. She acted in many controversial roles in which she portrayed characters of ethnicities other than her own; due to her dark hair, she was often cast in Gypsy or Spanish roles. From 1908 to 1917, she amassed 146 acting credits. She saw her time with Griffith as her "first glimmer of the possibilities in the new industry [and] from those days on [she had] seen a variety of attitudes toward the scriptwriters."Casella, Donna. Feminism and the Female Author: The Not So Silent Career of the Woman Scenarist in Hollywood - 1896-1930, tandfonline.com; accessed December 19, 2016.

After working with Griffith, MacPherson began working with the Universal Company, where she starred in more prominent roles."Lowry, Carolyn. The First One Hundred Noted Men and Women of the Screen" In 1913, she wrote, directed and starred in The Tarantula, about a Spanish-Mexican girl, known as the Tarantula, who seduced men before killing them. With this film, she became the youngest director in motion picture history. The Tarantula is the only film she directed.

MacPherson continued working for the Universal Company for two years, until her failing health caused her to leave. Upon her recovery, MacPherson began working for Lasky Studios; however, she quickly sought out Cecil B. DeMille to see if she could act in his films. He told her, "I am not interested in star MacPherson, but I am in writer MacPherson"; and from that point on, she focused on writing.

DeMille and MacPherson formed a partnership that some scholars consider to be one of the industry's most influential and long-lasting. MacPherson wrote the scripts for 30 of DeMille's next 34 films. Some of their most notable collaborations are Rose of the Rancho (1914) starring Bessie Barriscale, The Girl of the Golden West starring Mabel Van Buren, The Cheat (1915) starring Sessue Hayakawa, The Golden Chance (1915) starring Wallace Reid, Joan the Woman (1916) starring Geraldine Farrar, A Romance of the Redwoods (1917) with Mary Pickford, The Little American again starring Pickford, and The Woman God Forgot (1917) again starring Farrar.

In 1921, MacPherson told a reporter, "I shall always be grateful for Mr. DeMille's assistance. He is a hard taskmaster, and he demands that a thing shall be perfect... It was hard, but it taught me that anything worth doing at all was worth doing perfectly."

MacPherson believed that motion picture owed its psychology to D. W. Griffith and its dramatic picture scenario construction to DeMille. In 1927, she became a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Personal life MacPherson and DeMille's relationship was met with speculation for years. DeMille's niece, Agnes de Mille, later confirmed that MacPherson was one of her uncle's three mistresses.

MacPherson was a pilot and sought to take daily flights. She was the only woman to pilot the plane of Ormer Locklear.

In 1946, MacPherson became ill with cancer while researching Unconquered (1947), a historical drama, and had to stop work. She died that August in Los Angeles at age 60 and was buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6150 Hollywood Blvd.

Filmography As Performer Year Films Credit Notes 1909 Schneider's Anti-Noise Crusade Performer Short 1910 A Mohawk's Way Performer Short 1911 The Lonedale Operator Performer Short 1911 Fisher Folks Performer Short 1915 The Black Box Performer Serial

As Writer Year Films Credit Notes 1913 The Sea Urchin Scenario Shortalso performer 1913 Red Margaret, Moonshiner Scenario Short 1914 The Lie Scenario Short 1914 The Desert's Sting Scenario Shortalso performer 1914 The Trap Scenario Shortalso performer 1915 Chimmie Fadden Out West Screenplay 1915 Carmen Scenario co-written with William DeMille 1915 Temptation Scenario co-written with Hector Turnbull & C.B. DeMille 1915 The Captive Story co-written with C. B. DeMille 1915 The Cheat Scenario co-written with Hector Turnbull 1916 The Golden Chance Story co-written with C.B. DeMille 1916 The Love Mask Story 1916 The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Storycredited as Jeanne MacPherson,co-written with C.B. DeMille 1916 The Dream Girl Scenario 1916 The Heart of Nora Flynn Scenario co-written with Hector Turnbull 1916 Joan the Woman Scenario co-written with William DeMille 1917 The Little American Story & Scenario co-written with C.B. DeMille 1917 The Woman God Forgot Story co-written with William DeMille 1917 The Devil-Stone Scenario co-written with Beatrice deMille & Leighton Osmun 1917 A Romance of the Redwoods Story co-written with C.B. DeMille 1918 Old Wives for New Scenario co-written with C.B. DeMille 1918 Till I Come Back to You Scenario 1918 The Whispering Chorus Scenario 1919 For Better, For Worse Scenario co-written with William DeMille 1919 Don't Change Your Husband Scenario 1919 Male and Female Scenario 1920 Something to Think About Story 1921 The Affairs of Anatol Scenario 1921 Forbidden Fruit Story 1922 Saturday Night Story & Scenario 1922 Manslaughter Adaptation 1923 Adam's Rib Scenario 1923 The Ten Commandments Scenario 1924 Triumph Adaptation 1925 The Golden Bed Screenplay 1925 The Road to Yesterday Adaptation 1926 Red Dice Adaptation 1926 Her Man o' War Scenario co-written with Charles A. Logue 1926 Young April Adaptation co-written with Douglas Z. Doty 1927 The King of Kings Story & Continuity 1929 Dynamite Dialogue 1929 The Godless Girl Story co-written with Ernest Pascal 1930 Madam Satan Screenplay 1933 The Devil's Brother Adaptation 1935 The Crusades Treatment 1938 The Buccaneer Adaptation 1941 Land of Liberty Narration 1948 Unconquered Scenario

References

External links

Jeanie MacPherson at the Women Film Pioneers Project Jeanie MacPherson at Virtual History

Jeanie MacPherson at AFI