Anita Loos

Anita married Frank Palma Jr., son of a conductor, in 1915. However, when she realised her husband was a misfit and had no fortune, she abandoned him and returned to her mother.

After a long professional collaboration with director John Emerson, she married the man on 15th June, 1919. The couple had an on-off relationship and towards the end they stayed in different homes.

Emerson, always a paranoid, was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Though thr writer demanded a divorce, Emerson always found a way to stall her decision and she continued to take care of his expenses till his death.

She was born to Richard Beers Loos and Minnie Ellen Smith on April 26, 1889, at Mount Shasta, a city located in California. Her parents then christened her as Corinne Anita Loos.

During their stay in Mount Shasta, California, the family’s main source of income was a tabloid which Anita’s father had bought. Anita was introduced to writing since her childhood days, as her mother used to handle the publishing works of the newspaper.

When the family shifted base to San Francisco, in 1892, Minnie Ellen borrowed money from her father, using which they bought another newspaper ‘The Dramatic Event’. By the age of six, Anita had discovered her passion for writing, and was already submitting her writings and sketches to various newspapers.

Anita, along with her sister performed in the play ‘Quo Vadis’ in the year 1897, after their father insisted.

Richard Beers Loos was an alcoholic and spendthrift, so Anita and her sister Gladys had to be associated with theatre to support the family. During one of their father’s drunken episodes, Gladys lost her life and Anita had to bear the brunt of being the family’s only source of income.

Pursuing her love for writing, this writer began penning screenplays, in a bid to free herself from the grip of mediocre life, after watching the one act plays in one of the theatre she was performing, in 1911.

Her first screenplay ‘He Was A College Boy’, which she sent to the motion picture production firm ‘Biograph Company’, earned her $25. However, it was her third screenplay, titled ‘The New York Hat’ which became her first work to be produced and go on floor.

The then acclaimed director D.W. Griffith directed the lead actors Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore in this 1912 silent short film.

Drawing inspiration from her everyday experiences, she weaved stories around them, which formed the base of many of Anita’s screenplays. The screenwriter wrote more than a hundred scripts between 1912-1915, for various studios including the ‘Lubin Manufacturing Company’ and the ‘Biograph Company’.

Going against her mother’s wishes, this screenwriter went ahead to make a career as an actress in Hollywood. However, after six months of a fruitless marriage, she returned home disenchanted.

Her book ‘Gentlemen prefer Blondes’ turned out to be a best seller. This famous work which belongs to the Comedy genre, has been translated into 14 languages has seen 85 editions till date.