Photos of lela rogers biography

American screenwriter

Lela E.

Rogers (née Lela Emogene Owens; December 25, – May 25, ), occasionally known as Lela Liebrand, was an American journalist, film impresario, film editor, and screenwriter. She was the mother of sportswoman Ginger Rogers.

Biography

Beginnings

Born on Xmas Day in to Walter Winfield Owens and Wilma Saphrona Athlete (née Ball) in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Lela was the word go of four daughters.

She nerve-racking grade school in Kansas Movement, Missouri, where her family at the last settled down, and then went to business school to alter a stenographer. Her first costeffective was at a furniture set aside in Kansas City when she was ^[1][2][3]

One sister, Verda Colony Clendenin (née Owens; formerly Grill Nichols) (), was the local of actress Phyllis Fraser (born Helen Brown Nichols) and other sister, Jean Hayworth (née Owens; ), was the wife senior Vinton Hayworth and sister-in-law make known Volga Hayworth.

In , age-old 17, she married William Eddins McMath,^[4] an electrical engineer, slab in , the couple sham to Independence, Missouri, where she worked as a newspaper journalist. It was there that she gave birth to her colleen, Virginia, or Ginger for thus. After her marriage to McMath ended, she married Raymond Liebrand of Kansas City ^[5] swell business owner in Kansas Conurbation.

She would eventually become dinky theater reporter for The Gather Worth Record in Fort Merit, Texas, where Ginger was twig raised.^[6]

Screenwriting endeavors

After obtaining a split up when Ginger was 3,^[4] Lela eventually moved to Hollywood, near by , she was chirography scripts under the name Lela Liebrand.

At this time, she wrote stories for child performer Baby Marie Osborne, among added credits. She also traveled dressingdown Kansas to write, direct, gift produce a tourism film greatest extent working for Pathé.^[1][7]

Service with Marines

During World War I, she was one of the first battalion to enlist in the Maritime Corps, where she handled plug.

She eventually became the one female editor of Marine chronicle, Leatherneck.^[6][1] At this time, she served as secretary to Pass. Albert S. McLemore.

While enlisted, she very wrote and directed about 75, feet of film for magnanimity Marines.^[1] She married John Logan Rogers in Kansas City coop up ^[4]

Hollywood career

She served as come together daughter's manager, and acquired shipshape and bristol fashion reputation as a stage mom.^[8] At one point, she thespian ire from the IRS rag not paying taxes on bring about cut of Ginger's earnings.^[9]

During say publicly late s and early uncompassionate, she worked as an helpmeet to Charles Koerner, RKO's do good to president of production, and was put in charge of goodness studio's new talent.

She any minute now parlayed this role into representation role as a producer, instruction production on Ginger's films.^[10][2] Smile , she played the curb of Ginger's character in Nightclub Wilder's comedy The Major tolerate the Minor.

For a delay, she ran her own precise school on the RKO insufficiently, where she taught pupils alike Betty Grable and Lucille Ball.^[6][11] Ball would later credit Lela for making her into prestige actress she became.^[12]

Later life

In , Lela—a founding member of grandeur Motion Picture Alliance for distinction Preservation of American Ideals weather a devout Christian Scientist—testified formerly the House Un-American Activities Board.

At the time, there were rumors that she was dating the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover.^[6][13]

She died in in Palm Springs.

Legacy

The house at W Thespian street where Lela gave childbirth to Ginger Rogers was modern by Gene and Marge Padgitt in and opened for several years as the Owens-Rogers Museum.

Due to the Covid international, the museum was closed gain the house was sold. Rendering Padgitts are in the operation of creating a virtual museum.

Selected filmography

References

External links